FILE PHOTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore Monica Bisordi poses on the balance beam during practice. Bisordi will be competing this weekend at the NCAA Championships

Super sophomore travels to Nebraska to represent Arizona in All-Around and Beam events at the 2003 NCAA Championships

Somewhat ironically, as a superstar who cares more for the team than her own stats, sophomore Gymcat Monica Bisordi is heading to the national championships öö alone.

However, there is no doubt she is still thinking about her teammates back in Tucson.

Tomorrow Bisordi, a San Mateo, Calif. native, competes as the No. 7 seed in the all-around in the second session, rotating with Auburn, of the 2003 NCAA Championships, in Lincoln, Nebraska. The top four individuals in each of the two sessions in each even move on to the finals on Saturday.

"I think of it as a really great honor to represent UA," Bisordi said. "It is a bittersweet feeling to be going alone. I am so proud of the team who, this whole year, stuck it out."

Bisordi, the No. 15 ranked gymnast in the country, said she doesn't really have any goals for the meet other than to have fun.

"I really have nothing to lose, because it is the last meet of the season," Bisordi said. "Yeah I want to do really well, I kind of just want to have fun with it."

After a stellar first year, Bisordi was named first team All-Pac-10 in the beam and all-around. The key she felt was because she had better adjusted to college life.

"Actually it went really well," Bisordi said. "This year I knew how college worked and adjusted and feel my gymnastics is better, I didn't go backward."

Not only is she a top gymnast, Bisordi is the model teammate, said head coach Bill Ryden.

"She had a great year," Ryden said. "I mean she was certainly one of the best all-around gymnasts in the country, she set a number of personal records and really did quite a bit for the team. She's a very very good athlete who's also unassuming, she really has that team mentality which also makes her that much more valuable."

Going into the year, Bisordi hoped to do better, help out the freshmen and avoid injury, which she did for the most part.

"Last year the three seniors were role models for the six freshmen and I tried to do that for underclassmen," Bisordi said.

Ryden said he was pleased to see Bisordi's active leadership role.

"I didn't ask her, but I'm glad to hear it," Ryden said. "She can be one of those who every time she steps on the floor she makes a statement of quality gymnastics."

Bisordi, who was a very accomplished and decorated high school gymnast, has a lot of potential, Ryden said.

"She's definitely capable of being multiple All-American, multiple all-conference, conference champion and national champion like we've had in the past, she's of that level," Ryden said.

Bisordi's career so far has resembled that of former UA great Randi Liljenquist's, who had her breakout season as a sophomore.

Last year, Arizona made it to the championships finishing 11th. Bisordi bested six gymnasts in the all-around, with a score of 38.950.

During the year, Bisordi led the Gymcats with 47 top-five individual event finishes, six all-around titles, six beam titles, three floor titles and two bars titles.

Bisordi qualified for the championships by getting fifth in the all-around with a 39.300 at the South Central Regional Championships. She also tied for third place on bars with a score of 9.900.

She tied for first place on beam with a career-high 9.925 and in the all-around with a career-high 39.600 against Stanford (Feb. 28).

After scoring an all around career high, 39.600, which was the third best score in school history, Bisordi tied it against Stanford, something she thought she couldn't equal. Later on in the season against Oklahoma, Bisordi beat her mark with 39.750.

In Ryden's eyes, the sky is the limit, and who knows how far Bisordi's talent will take her.

"What could certainly set (Bisordi) apart from the other great all-arounders in the past will be when sheÎs done, has she kept up that intensity kept up the quality in her career," Ryden said. "Certainly she is on her way to being one of the best that's ever been here."