GymDawgs Name Duranczyk, Northey Team Captains
October 23, 2015 | Gymnastics
SEATTLE – UW gymnastics has named junior Kaitlyn Duranczyk and senior Allison Northey as its team captains for the upcoming season.
Coming off a 2015 season that saw the Huskies advance to the NCAA Regionals and finish in seventh place in the Pac-12, the Huskies return a wealth of talent and are hopeful for a strong 2015-16 season.
Northey, a senior from Sammamish, Wash., was the Huskies' lone all-arounder last season and set new personal-bests in all four events and in the all-around. She was named First Team All-Pac-12 as an all-arounder after a sixth-place finish at the conference championships.
Northey is also the GymDawgs' only senior, and hopes her experience will help her be a leader to the 2016 Huskies.
“This is an opportunity to lead by example,” Northey said. “I really want to focus on being there for my teammates and helping the freshman during their first year. The goal is to be a good role model. I've been through a lot and seen a lot. I feel like I can share that experience and help my teammates get through things. Offering that support is really important to me.”
Duranczyk, a junior from Sebastopol, Calif., competed on bars and floor during the 2015 season and set new personal bests on both – a 9.85 on bars at the Pac-12 Championships and a 9.8 on floor at NCAA Regionals. She was Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention honoree.
“It's a huge honor and a big responsibility to be a team captain, and I'm really excited for the opportunity,” Duranczyk said. “I appreciate the support for my teammates and I'm really excited for this year. I'm really big into leading by example. If we demonstrate a good work ethic and a good attitude in the gym, other people will follow. We want to do our best to keep a positive atmosphere – that's really important to me. We can be so much more productive with a positive mentality.”
The Huskies will host their annual Purple & Gold meet on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. PT. The event is free and open to all UW gymnastics fans. The GymDawgs open their season on Saturday, Jan. 9 at home against Ohio State.
“Everyone is embracing their role and coming together as a cohesive group,” Northey said. “Sticking together and continuing this family dynamic is really important. If we have each other's backs and are fully bought into the common goal, I think we can be really successful this year.”
“Everyone seems so bought in to our goals this year,” Duranczyk added. “It's so much fun to come into the gym every day when everyone has such a great attitude. We have so much talent, and I know if we work hard we can get where we want to go this year.”
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