Paulus Performing Up To Her Expectations

AMES, Iowa?Celine Paulus admits her freshman season did not go as planned. Still recovering from fracturing her right leg in two places and a stress fracture in her back that she endured in high school made the usual adjustments for a freshman gymnast even harder. As a result, Paulus struggled to find a place in the Cyclone lineups.

However, this year has been a complete turnaround for the Yorba Linda, Calif., native as she holds she Cyclones' highest scores on both vault (9.900) and floor (9.825).

“Last year was hard because I felt that I was letting a lot of people down because I had high expectations of competing in the all-around, and that's what I wanted to do.” Paulus said. “This year, I'm so happy because I'm finally where I want to be. Of course, I always want more but it's good where I'm at right now.”

Paulus, who fractured her leg as a junior in high school and had a stress fracture in her back as a sophomore, says her previous injuries still impacted her as a freshman last year. However, the transition to collegiate gymnastics played an equally important role.

“I had to take off four months to let my leg heal after fracturing it as a junior in high school,” Paulus said. “After getting over that is when my back started to flare up again. I didn't compete my senior year. It was hard going from not training my senior year to training a lot again last season, being in a team atmosphere and getting serious about gymnastics again. It was just a big adjustment for me.”

Now that she has overcome some of the adversity that plagued her last season, Paulus is a mainstay on vault, floor and beam for the Cyclones. Furthermore, she has exhibitioned on bars at every ISU meet in 2010. She attributes being more healthy and comfortable to her meteoric rise in her second season in Ames.

“I'm just at a better place,” Paulus said. “My body is feeling better. Last year I had a leg injury that had bothered me. I didn't really know my place on the team. Now, I feel like I'm more confident in my training. The training part is helping me a lot more with the competition. I'm doing better in school, I'm doing better in practice, I'm more comfortable with my teammates and I trust the coaches. It's nice; I'm just at a completely better place.”

Iowa State coach Jay Ronayne has taken notice of Paulus' improvement.

“Her freshman year she went through what every freshman goes through,” Ronayne said. “It's a transition period between high school and college which is difficult for most students but especially for student-athletes at the Division I level.”

Despite her fast start in 2010, Ronayne feels Paulus still has more in store for Iowa State gymnastics fans.

“She is doing great now but she is showing that she is going to be a very good gymnast,” Ronayne said. “She has the ability to be one of the best on our team.”