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By MARK MOSCHETTI
Seattle Pacific Sports Information
 
SEATTLE – She's a double major – accounting and French – with a near-perfect 3.92 grade-point average.
 
She has study-abroad plans for this summer – in France, of course -- after she graduates.
 
There's even a job waiting for her at a Seattle accounting firm when she gets back.
 
Any way you slice it, Lauren Glover is as sharp as they come.
 
Oh, and by the way … she's also a top-caliber gymnast, with a national bronze medal and an All-American award to prove it.
 
But the Seattle Pacific senior believes there's something even more important than that. In a sport where the spotlight usually shines on individual accomplishments, Glover is all about team.
 
Which is why she ultimately decided two years ago to spend an entire season of eligibility on two attempts at vaulting: one in the national semifinals, the other in the national finals, with the goal of helping the Falcons latch onto a team trophy.
 
To this brainy Falcon, that decision …
 
… was the ultimate no-brainer.
 
"I really wanted to participate in nationals that year," recalled the 21-year-old Glover, as she gets ready for her last weekend as a competitor at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals, set for Friday through Sunday in Brougham Pavilion. "It would have been hard for me to redshirt. I would have missed graduating with my class, I would have missed out on a year – and I was really excited to get back into it."
 
 

Glover's selfless mindset – and her 9.65 vault score – helped the Falcons win their semifinal session at the 2015 nationals in Philadelphia. In the next night's team finals. SPU took third place, with Glover's 9.60 score factoring into their season-high 194.225 total.
 
"I was just happy I landed it," she said. "What was most nerve-wracking was it was my first (competitive) vault of the season. Usually, you can blow it off (for the first one), no pressure. But my first vault was at nationals."
 
Glover's decision to use her entire season of eligibility on just those two vaults was no surprise to those who know her. Among them is SPU assistant coach Sarah Jean Marshall, who works closely with her, particularly on the balance beam.
 
"We totally left it up to her – we didn't pressure her in either direction," Marshall said. "We wanted her to make a decision of what would be best for herself and her career in the long run.
 
"That's a perfect example of the amazing character she has," Marshall added. "She's not the kind of person who needs any sort of attention or accolades. She wants to do what's best for the team.
 
ONE 'POSITIVE RESPONSE' – AND IT WAS FROM SPU
Growing up in Colorado – Fort Collins, to be precise, approximately 65 miles straight north of Denver – Lauren Glover had heard of Seattle, but had never been here. As for her interest in Seattle Pacific?
 
It was just one of many schools to which Glover sent an e-mail, hoping to find some coach, somewhere, who would give her a chance at the final phase of her career.

 

"When I was little, I kind of wanted to compete at college for as long as I could remember," said Glover, who was very little – as in age 2 – when she first started in the sport. "I watched college meets in Denver, and it was always fun.
 
"It was a goal of mine: I wanted to finish and have a strong four years," she added. "SPU was the only one I got a positive response from."
 
That positive response came from Falcons head coach Laurel Tindall.
 
"We've always been interested in Colorado gymnasts because they don't have a lot of options," Tindall said. "There are a lot of good gymnasts in Colorado who don't really have a close-by place." (The Air Force Academy and Denver University are the only collegiate programs in the state.)
 
Right from the get-go, Glover earned her place on the squad. Matter of fact, she earned three places: vault, uneven parallel bars, and the beam. She did all three of those events in every meet as a freshman. Of the six frosh on that 2014 team, the only one besides Glover to be a regular on more than one event was Kristi Hayashida (beam and floor).
 
"What we're looking for in recruits is kids who can make an impact right away," Tindall said. "That's always our goal."
  
SETTING THE TONE – EVEN AS A FRESHMAN
To this day, Glover isn't entirely sure why the balance beam is her favorite event.
 
But it is.
 
"It doesn't logically make sense – I think it definitely grew on me," she said. "it has always been terrifying. But being able to conquer that fear is good."
 
Conquer it completely?

 

"You never do entirely," Glover replied. "It's kind of one skill at a time. When you've done it enough times, you realize you can do it."
 
Not only could she do those skills, Glover could do them consistently. In fact, she could do them so consistently that by just the fifth meet of her freshman year, she had become Seattle Pacific's leadoff competitor on the beam.
 
That spot has been hers ever since. While leadoff performers on all four events can set the tone for their teammates, that role is arguably more significant on the beam than on any of the other three.
 
"She gets up there whether it's our first event or our last event," assistant coach Marshall said. "She can go for that routine and hit it."
 
Glover acknowledges the pressure of leading off – and embraces the responsibility that goes along with it.
 
"There's no one going before me, so I can choose how to set that tone," she said. "It feels like there's less pressure for me, I can just get up and do what I know how to do."
 
How ironic that the beam was what wiped out almost all of her sophomore season in 2015. On a series during practice, Glover was executing a back tuck when she slipped off – and broke her right foot.
 
It required surgery. It required rehab. Glover and SPU head athletic trainer Jason Durocher, who also is the primary trainer for gymnastics, worked together constantly to get her back into shape – and back into action.
 
"Lauren is a very motivated individual, who is successful because she's personally motivated and driven," Durocher said. "The toughest part is dealing with some discomfort when you're getting back into activity. Some people struggle with the difficulty of managing pain.
 
"Not only did Lauren do everything she needed to do in the athletic training room to manage her pain, she's pretty tough," Durocher added. "In her mind, she knew (college gymnastics) was a four-year thing, and if she could make it back, she would. That speaks to the tenacity of all of our gymnasts."
 
ONE WEEKEND LEFT
That tenacity now has taken Glover to the final few days of her career.
 
"I think it kind of hit me (on Monday) when we finally got to our last week," she said. "It has been a part of my life as long as I can remember.

"It will be somewhat of an identity crisis," she said with a laugh.
 
Still, although her personality is on the quiet side, Glover isn't planning to slip quietly away. The Falcons are coming in as the No. 9 seed among the nine teams, so they know they have some work to do if they want to be one of the top two squads in Friday's second semifinal session and earn a place in Saturday's team finals.
 
"We have absolutely nothing to lose," Glover said. "We're definitely the underdogs going in. But I think we can do really well. We just need to relax as a team. If we focus too much on scores or hitting, we won't have fun. We just have to go in and enjoy it."
 
Relax. Go in and enjoy it. Have fun. The results will take care of themselves. For talented, brainy Lauren Glover …
 
… that sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it?