From Fun to Full-Ride: Getting to Know Illini Freshman Becca Cuppy
By Amanda Wijangco
For several years, gymnast Becca Cuppy simply loved gymnastics and lived for the moment. Once she got to level 9/10, she realized that she had a strong desire to compete in collegiate gymnastics and receive a full-ride scholarship.
That dream came true, and now Cuppy is a freshman on the University of Illinois women’s gymnastics team with a full-ride scholarship.
When she found out that she was being offered a full-ride, she was ecstatic, as it was something she worked towards for years.
That dream came true, and now Cuppy is a freshman on the University of Illinois women’s gymnastics team with a full-ride scholarship.
When she found out that she was being offered a full-ride, she was ecstatic, as it was something she worked towards for years.
Picture of Becca Cuppy
By http://www.gymnastike.org, Amanda Wijangco
Her love for gymnastics first began around the age of 8. When the Cuppy family moved to Akeny, Iowa from Pleasant Hill, Iowa, her father enrolled her in gymnastics.
“I always liked climbing around on jungle gyms, and he used to do it when he was younger, so I just wanted to be like him,” she said.
Her dad not only started her in the sport, but he helped her achieve her dream of obtaining a full-ride scholarship to compete in collegiate gymnastics. When she began competing level 9/10, her dad recorded all of her routines at every meet she competed at. He then uploaded them to YouTube, and she sent them to college coaches.
She mostly sent her videos to schools in the Midwest, specifically Iowa and Iowa State, as an Iowa native. In addition, she tried to garner the attention of Big Ten coaches, because she “really wanted to be in the Big Ten.”She got just what she asked for. After Landrus attended the Region 4 Championships and saw Cuppy’s YouTube videos, she offered Cuppy a full-ride to be a Fighting Illini gymnast.
“I always liked climbing around on jungle gyms, and he used to do it when he was younger, so I just wanted to be like him,” she said.
Her dad not only started her in the sport, but he helped her achieve her dream of obtaining a full-ride scholarship to compete in collegiate gymnastics. When she began competing level 9/10, her dad recorded all of her routines at every meet she competed at. He then uploaded them to YouTube, and she sent them to college coaches.
She mostly sent her videos to schools in the Midwest, specifically Iowa and Iowa State, as an Iowa native. In addition, she tried to garner the attention of Big Ten coaches, because she “really wanted to be in the Big Ten.”She got just what she asked for. After Landrus attended the Region 4 Championships and saw Cuppy’s YouTube videos, she offered Cuppy a full-ride to be a Fighting Illini gymnast.
“Illinois just had so much to offer,” she said. “It has such a beautiful campus and great academics and athletics. Both of those combined is really what I was looking for.”
After years of hard work in the gym and in the classroom, Cuppy is right where she wants to be, and Landrus couldn't ask for more.
I bet it was a lot of hard work to get to where she is now, very nice story.
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