University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Not Done Yet
January 20, 2019 | Women's Gymnastics, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Before undergoing surgery on her right elbow, back in March 2016, Megan Ruzicka knew she'd be taking a break from college gymnastics. But she couldn't have foreseen for how long.
Then a sophomore at Iowa, Ruzicka figured she'd miss her entire junior season recovering from the surgery, as well as an impending procedure on her left elbow. She'd potentially return as a senior. But even that was uncertain, she said, because doctors didn't know the extent of her injuries or how long she'd need to rehab.
Around that same time, Ruzicka's father, Scott, was experiencing some health issues. She wished to spend more time with him and the rest of her family in Plainfield, Ill., about a three-hour  drive from Iowa's campus. She'd also begun questioning her major.
So when Ruzicka learned after her right elbow surgery that her recovery would take longer than expected, she transferred to Northwestern, only an hour's drive from home. And she left gymnastics behind.
"I decided what I got out of that experience was what I wanted," said Ruzicka of her two years on the Iowa gymnastics team. "So, it was OK to be done."
But she only accepted that for so long.
Within her first few weeks at Northwestern, Ruzicka realized she wanted to return to gymnastics. She spent two years training, first with the Northwestern club team and then the Illinois Gymnastics Institute (IGI), hoping to compete at the college level again. Now, as a graduate student at North Carolina, she's achieved that goal. And she's making the most of the opportunity.
At 6 years old, Ruzicka started participating in gymnastics after her mother, Kathy, received free passes for an open gym. Watching the older girls perform tricks, Ruzicka immediately fell in love with the sport. It then became her dream to compete in college.
Around her sophomore year of high school, that dream started seeming more attainable.
Ruzicka narrowed her college search down to places where she could pursue a degree in actuarial science, a major that she believed would still allow her to help hospitals after she realized she might struggle dealing with her emotions as a doctor. Iowa offered that, as well as a homey atmosphere. But upon enrolling, she struggled adjusting to the environment in the gym.
"You're constantly competing against your friends, and that I don't think I was really used to," she said. "So it was kind of hard in that respect to get used to the level of competition that's in the gym because it is for fun, but you also want to win in the end."
Ruzicka didn't make any appearances in her two seasons at Iowa. She excelled in the classroom, though, earning NACGC/W Scholastic All-America honors twice. She was also named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar as a sophomore in 2016.
During that year, she said she'd started considering changing her major to statistics, a decision she thought could lead to more opportunities interacting with people in her future career as opposed to working predominantly behind the scenes.Â
Then came her elbow injuries and ultimately her decision to transfer.
Initially, Ruzicka didn't know what to do with all the extra time she had after enrolling at Northwestern. She became involved with the swimming and diving teams, helping coordinate and score some of their meets and run their social media accounts. She even started taking a diving class, along with a few 10-year-olds.
But as much as she tried channeling her energy into this newfound athletic interest and also her academics, she couldn't stop thinking about gymnastics.
"Once I was diving, I was like, 'I just want to flip again,'" she said. "I wasn't ready to be done like I thought I was."
Since Northwestern doesn't support a varsity gymnastics team, Ruzicka joined the club squad. Practices were conducted "at a very elementary level," she said, and they lasted about six hours each week – a far cry from the 20 she was used to. But she gradually started re-acclimating to the sport after recovering from her surgery. And eventually, she began entertaining the idea of competing at the college level again.
The master of science program in INSTORE (Interdisciplinary Statistics and Operations Research) attracted Ruzicka to UNC. She'd also heard plenty about the school from Lexi Cappalli, one of her high school teammates at IGI and a Tar Heel gymnast from 2013-16.
So when Ruzicka came to North Carolina for the Northwestern-Duke football game on Sept. 9, 2017, her mother told her to call Derek Galvin and ask if they could visit. He invited them to practice and walked them around campus. By the time Ruzicka left, she was sold.
"The way everyone spoke to me, it was like I as a person mattered," she said. "I wasn't a number; my future potential didn't matter to them. They just wanted me to be happy. That was probably what drew me the most to UNC was the fact that everyone was so concerned about happiness and doing your best and being your best person."
A few months later, Ruzicka was admitted to Carolina. But she could've easily elected to start pursuing her career instead of enroll.Â
After serving as an actuarial consultant intern at Oliver Wyman's Chicago office in the summer of 2017, Ruzicka said she was told the company would have a job waiting for her once she graduated. By then, she was already focused on returning to college gymnastics as a graduate student, and she informed the company of that plan. Yet her boss understood.
Ruzicka interned with Oliver Wyman again last summer. With two years of eligibility left, she plans to become a healthcare consultant with the company whenever she's finished at UNC.
"They're kind of letting me have the opportunities," Ruzicka said. "My boss is like, 'You're only going to be young once. This opportunity is only going to be here for five years, so go live your best life.'"
And for the last few months, she has.
When Ruzicka arrived at Carolina, she said she was nervous. She'd watched the team from afar as she finished her bachelor's degree at Northwestern last spring, and she knew she had a lot of work to do in order to make a lineup this season, or even contribute at all.
It took some time for her to adjust, she said. What's surprised her more than anything, though, is how supportive her teammates and coaches have been.
"You just have trust with every one of your teammates and you trust your coaches, and that was something I wasn't used to," Ruzicka said. "I think I grew up a lot because they were like, 'How do you actually feel?,' as opposed to, 'Can you make it through this assignment?' And that was a lot different from club.Â
"They want you to be the best you that you can be. And that's the best you in every aspect of your life, not just (in the gym). That was a big difference from anywhere I've been."
With only two other seniors on the Tar Heels' roster, Ruzicka's grown into a leadership role. She primarily leads by example, she said. But Galvin said Ruzicka's started providing more feedback for her teammates as she's grown more comfortable.
Although she's been in Chapel Hill just a short time, Ruzicka's made a strong impression.
"She's a very hard-working woman," Galvin said. "Academically, she's in a very demanding graduate program. She has not shied away from any of the training that we do. She pushes herself hard every day. She's very conscientious about doing the things she needs to do to put herself in the best position to benefit the team. And I have a lot of respect for that."
Because of her hard work and determination, Ruzicka earned a spot in the uneven parallel bars, floor exercise and vault lineups when Carolina opened the season at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational last weekend. She posted scores of 9.650, 9.575 and 9.500 in the events, respectively. Saturday, she made her first appearance at Carmichael Arena as UNC hosted top-ranked Oklahoma and Ball State.
The situation is one she couldn't have envisioned herself being in two years ago. But her journey from then until now has led her here, where she believes she belongs.
"I feel like I've waited my whole life for this year …" she said. "It's just been everything. I thought it was going to be amazing, and it's just so much better than I thought it would be."
Players Mentioned
