Freshman Focus: Olivia Karas
11/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Nov. 13, 2015
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Get to know a little bit about University of Michigan women's gymnastics freshman Olivia Karas in the first of our two Freshman Focus pieces.
Karas came to Michigan from Chicago, Illinois, where she attended The Latin School of Chicago and competed for IK Gymnastics. She was a three-time Junior Olympics National Championships qualifier.
Q. What made you want to come to Michigan?
A. Ever since I was little (about seven years old) I wanted to come to Michigan. It was always the ideal school for me. I always watched Michigan gymnastics on TV, and I wanted to be a part of this program. We had a family legacy here, and it was close to home. Every time I stepped on campus I knew it was the place for me, and I didn't even take any other visits.
Q. Who else in your family attended Michigan?
A. My uncle went to school here, and a lot of my second and third cousins came to school here. When all my family heard I was coming here they were all very happy.
Q. What was the day like when you committed to Michigan?
A. It was a funny day. We had a really hard practice at my club gym. When I got home all I wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. My dad told me to make a phone call, and I didn't want to at all. He talked me into it, but I didn't know who I was calling. He dialed the phone, and Scott (Sherman) answered. We had a casual conversation, and then he said "How would you like to be a Michigan Wolverine?" I was silent for 15 seconds, and then I started to cry. I was so excited. I told Scott that I would love to go to school here, and then everyone in my house started to go crazy.
Q. What are you looking forward to the most in your first season at Michigan?
A. Bonding with my teammates more. We are already pretty close. Being able to compete with them with the same goal in mind is going to be awesome. I've never really had a team aspect so it will be awesome to learn from my teammates on how to approach college gymnastics.
Q. How great is receiving that team support in practice?
A. It is awesome. It makes you feel like you are part of something bigger. Even if you are doing small things it is nice to know people are rooting for you and looking out for you. Briley (Casanova) always says OTAT, which is one thing at a time. Whenever I hear here say that it calms me down automatically.
Q. What are some goals that you for your freshman year?
A. Most importantly to stay injury free. Other than that, it would just be to do our absolute best. We have so much talent on this team. I am really looking forward to showing all of our hard work.
Q. What is one thing that you love about Michigan that you didn't know about before coming here?
A. I would say meeting tons of people. I knew I would meet people, but it is so cool. I live with a field hockey player so I have gotten to know their team pretty well. We lift with water polo so you start to meet more people. It is then nice to see friendly faces on campus because at times it can be a little bit intimidating.
Q. How did you get started in gymnastics and at what age?
A. My mom took me to those Mommy and Me classes when I was two or three years old because I wouldn't stop jumping on the couch. I took regular classes after school for a while. I was very hyper and energetic and always needed to be moving. One day after practice the coach asked my parents if I wanted to try out for team gymnastics. I hated it at first because I didn't want to rest, but it grew on me. and I learned a lot about pacing myself energy wise and stay disciplined. It became a part of me. and I have loved it ever since.
Q. What is your favorite event?
A. I have always loved vault. There is not much you can do, but it is really cool to figure out small details to fix and really change things. Vault is the event where you can get high scores and points you need to bypass another team.
Q. What are you thinking about majoring in?
A. I am thinking about communications and marketing with a minor in writing because I love to write. I would love to stay in the sports realm, but I also love Chicago. If I could work for a sports team in Chicago that would be awesome.
Q. What are some hobbies you have?
A. I love photography and hanging out with friends. I am with Emma (McLean) almost every minute of every single day. We met at Michigan camp two years ago. We didn't know each other real well, but last year we got closer, and the minute we got on campus we bonded. We are one floor away from each other, so we can just walk up or down the stairs to see each other.
Q. Do you have any hidden talents?
A. I do some nice interpretive dancing for Emma when she is bummed out but nothing really other than that.
Q. What is one thing people don't know about you?
A. My favorite animal is an alpaca. In middle school, we had an event called Fall Fest, and they always had an alpaca at the petting zoo. I stayed there the entire time with it.
Players Mentioned
