Freshman Showing Spunk on National Stage

Florida's Amanda Castillo is leading the charge to bring another national title to Gainesville

April 27, 2007

By Lindsay Schnell

Special to CSTV.com

SALT LAKE CITY -- Florida gymnast Amanda Castillo has a handful of unruly brunette curls, a spunky floor routine and, according to coach Rhonda Faehn, a certain "swagger" about her.

"I love Amanda. We've always said she's a little spark plug," Faehn said. "She has so much swagger -- it's not overconfidence, but she's having a blast out there. That shows when she performs."

It certainly showed Thursday afternoon when Castillo danced and sang with her teammates right before her floor performance in the first session of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships. Just a freshman, Castillo came up big for the Gators when they needed it, scoring a 9.900 on both floor and balance beam, helping UF qualify for the Super Six tonight in Salt Lake City. The Gators, ranked No. 1 coming into the meet, scored a 197.400, second best of the afternoon session.

"I don't feel pressure; I'm just having fun," Castillo said. "I was really confident today because we've had a great season all year and have had amazing practices these last two weeks. We came in with the mentality that we could do it."

"It" refers to bringing a national championship back to Gainesville, a city that has become accustomed to NCAA hardware in the last year. And Castillo might just be the one to lead the charge.

Castillo came to UF after a stellar prep career -- she did quite a bit of damage in the 2005 and 2006 Junior Olympics -- and made an impact immediately. Named the SEC freshman gymnast of the year in what is undoubtedly the toughest conference in the nation, Castillo was the first Gator to win an SEC floor title since 1989. She's only 4-foot-10, but she's a big part of the reason the Gators were No. 1 all season.

"She was like that when we signed her," Faehn said of Castillo's confidence. "We knew she had that little extra edge that was going to rub off on the team."

Her go-to event is floor, where Castillo's spunky, upbeat personality shines through her tumbling passes as much as the smile on her face.

"It's wonderful to see Amanda dancing out there and enjoying the moment, not getting caught up in being nervous," Faehn said. "She's a very strong competitor."

So strong, in fact, that Faehn never thought about pulling her rookie aside before NCAAs to assure her she'd be okay. Says Faehn, "it never entered my mind."

Faehn first saw Castillo in Daytona when she was 14. Castillo's coach, Jeff Wood, came up to Faehn and gave her a heads up.

"See that little one?" he said to Faehn. "She's going to be a star."

Time has proved Wood right. Faehn says Castillo has "completely lived up" to her billing and won't be surprised if she helps the Gators walk away with the national title tonight. First though, they must get past the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs, winners of the first session with a score of 197.700.

Georgia also has a star underclassman of its own in sophomore Courtney Kupets, but Castillo is confident her team can get it done. And it's not so much about beating the Bulldogs.

"It's not about beating Georgia," Castillo said. "It's more about being national champions. Right now we have this little slogan in Gainesville, called `Titleville.' So if we could just add one more title, that'd be great."

"I think it would be tremendous for the sport of gymnastics," Faehn said. "When you've had only four schools that have ever won the title it gets a little frustrating. People want to see new blood, want to see the underdog win. It wouldn't just be wonderful for our school and our program, but for gymnastics as well."