While the phrase "healthy gymnast" is best characterized as an oxymoron, Arizona freshman Kristin McDermott actually entered gymnastics to improve her health.

"When I was little I played soccer. I wasn't that good and I was always getting sick because of allergies," McDermott said. "I went to the doctor one time and he told my parents that I needed to do some kind of aerobic exercise to help improve my allergies. They had noticed that I always did cartwheels on the soccer field when I was bored so they suggested gymnastics and here I am."

McDermott's decision to enter gymnastics paid dividends last Saturday against UCLA. Coming off a two-week rehabilitation for a knee injury suffered during a preseason practice, McDermott gave Arizona's second-best performance on the floor exercise (9.825) to help propel her the team to the victory.

"I had hurt my knee two weeks before our first meet after I landed wrong from the vault. So it was the first time in two weeks that I had performed the entire floor routine, and I was a little nervous," McDermott said. "I knew I needed a good score because of UCLA's ability and our situation, but I just went out and performed like I usually would."

McDermott has been no stranger to pressure-packed situations, in 1992 she competed all the way into the U.S. Olympic trials.

"When I started, my whole goal had been just to make the Olympic trials. So when I made it, I was a little unsure what it would be like," McDermott said. "There were only so many girls chosen and it was real intense. They made us perform each event one at a time. It was a lot of work, but it was a great experience."

"Kristin's strength is her mental tenacity. She is very determined and gets into the mind set of 'I am going to do this no matter what,'" UA head coach Jim Gault said. "Her aggressive style makes her not afraid to go after things."

But once she left the national scene she dropped a level to prepare for the next step in her career.

"Last year Kristin decided to drop from elite to level ten status," Gault said. "What that means is that she was not judged as tight. Gymnasts commonly do this to concentrate more on college."

But Arizona was not McDermott's only choice. It was only after her fifth visit to the state that she decided to leave her home in New Jersey and head out West.

"I had looked at Florida in addition to Arizona. But I had visited Arizona four times before my trip because I had some prep meets out here before so I felt a little more comfortable," McDermott said. "Being from New Jersey I loved the weather, plus I really like the coaches and academics. So after my visit I canceled my trip to Michigan because it was too cold."

Once she settled in, McDermott became one of Arizona's most consistent performers and hardest workers. In her first meet against California, she recorded a 9.825 on bars while battling her knee injury. In addition to her uplifting performance on floor against UCLA, she added a 9.675 on bars and a 9.525 on beam.

"When we recruited her, we saw a talented kid with a lot of good skills," Gault said. "But when she came here we saw what a great work ethic she has. We should have expected that because she came from a club team that does hundreds of millions of repetitions."

While she has shown the tools to be a great gymnast, McDermott feels there are still some team-oriented areas she needs to work on.

"Being from a lot of individual competition, I haven't had the experience of being with a team," McDermott said. "I sometimes walk by myself during the meets and I find I am not as supportive as I should be. But I'm working on it and hopefully I can get better."