![]() The Panthers have competed once since the NC State meet. While both gymnasts are still savoring the feeling that their first routines left, Chamberlain admits that she is looking forward to strengthening her knee further so she can compete in the vault and beam. With their return to competition, Coca and Chamberlain are now able to focus on themselves, and that means creating goals for this season and beyond. “ We were able to relate to each other … It sucked that two of us were injured but it was very helpful too.” “Both of us being injured around similar times, I think we were able to lean on each other too,” Coca said. Given the similar timing and recovery period for their injuries, both Coca and Chamberlain were able to find someone nearby who was experiencing the same injury-induced frustration. They became hype-women for their teammates, injecting confidence and kind words wherever they detected self-doubt among the team.Īnd while they were there for their teammates, Coca and Chamberlain were there for each other. “Pouring all of our energy into the team and making sure that they had what they needed during the season, that was our priority.” “I think both of us really took to the role of supporter during the season,” Chamberlain said. But both were able to fill their time with being two of Pitt gymnastics’ loudest cheerleaders. They had to find ways to keep themselves distracted while their bodies healed.Ĭoca used her time to watch movies and play with her two dogs, Ty and Major, while Chamberlain chose to explore cooking, which she said mostly consisted of awkward hobbling around the kitchen. But that plan was quickly derailed when she tore her achilles tendon during the preseason.īut instead of workouts with teammates, Coca and Chamberlain’s injuries meant time on crutches, isolated and struggling to find enough ways to fill a college athletics career-sized hole that now existed in their lives. Just being back in the lineup made it a success.Ĭoca transferred to Pitt from Kentucky in 2019, after missing the season with an undisclosed injury, and was planning on closing out a successful college career in 2020 with the Panthers. ![]() But Chamberlain said that it didn’t matter much that she had scored a career best, earned an event title and bolstered her team score in a key dual meet. ![]() Both women were celebrating moments years in the making.Ĭhamberlain and Coca are both little more than a year removed from devastating lower body injuries, and their return meant that they had reached the end of long, arduous rehabilitation processes.Ĭoca and Chamberlain showcased brilliant displays of grace and athleticism on the bars that earned strong marks - both averaged a score of 9.875 in their two attempts - from the onlooking judges. Meanwhile, Chamberlain embraced team trainer Sean Meuller. ![]() When she was done, teammates shared their pride for Coca with fist bumps and jumps of excitement. Coca’s routine was deliberate, paced and made use of pauses on top of the bars to show off impressive balance, strength and focus. Graduate student Katrina Coca, donning a black leotard with “Panthers” spelled out in sparkling, yellow script across her back for the first time, leapt onto the bars. ![]()
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