Photo by: Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics
Senior Reflections: Jenna Rizkalla
Mar 06 | Women's Gymnastics
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers gymnastics will host its final home meet this season on Friday at 7 p.m. It will be the last time the Scarlet Knights' four seniors compete in front of the home crowd at the RAC.
From Westfield, New Jersey, Jenna Rizkalla arrived at Rutgers for the 2017 season and earned the team's Most Improved Award. Last season, she hit every routine throughout the year on floor exercise to collect a team-high 9.850 RQS. Rizkalla has continued her consistency with at least a 9.700 on the event seven times so far in 2019.
Rizkalla reached career highs on three events last week at New Hampshire. She had her best vault at 9.900, while achieving that score on floor exercise for the second time as a Scarlet Knight. In addition, Rizkalla paced the team with a 9.750 on balance beam. The sport management major has served as a captain this season.
"Jenna is just happy all the time," head coach Umme Salim-Beasley said. "She comes in always smiling and she always wants to do more. She'll come to us and ask, 'what can I do to make my routines better? I really want to get a 9.9, so what can I do?' It's great to see that she really takes the initiative to come and find out how she can make this team better. Being a senior and knowing this is going to be the end of her career, she just really wants to go out on the highest note possible. Her getting two 9.9s last week was something that she was so proud of and we were so proud for her because she's worked so hard in the gym to deserve that."
Rizkalla's senior reflections…
On being at Rutgers: "When I got here it was a little scary, but the people really took me in. The people here, my teammates, coaches, everyone. Overall, it's been a really fun experience and I've learned a lot and met a lot of different people. It's just been a lot of fun."
On the gymnastics team: "Being a part of this team has been such a good opportunity that I'm really blessed to have had. I'm really fortunate to have made connections with the people on the team and I'm so thankful to be a part of it."
On memories: "One specific night I will always remember is when we beat Penn State a couple weeks ago. I will never forget that night. It was absolutely incredible. The fans that we had, the crowd was on fire, we were on fire and there was so much energy in that place. It was so much fun. It gives me goosebumps just talking about it, it was such a fun night."
On the future: "In the future, when I'm done with gymnastics, I'm a sport management major so I'd really like to work in football operations. Somewhere along those lines and stay in the sports world."
On gymnastics: "This is such a hard question. It has meant the world to me, it shaped me into the person that I am today. It's taught me that hard work will pay off and it has just helped me build so many friendships. This team really feels like my family. I'll keep the things that gymnastics has taught over the years with me for the rest of my life, and it'll really help me succeed in the real world when I'm done with it."
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics), Facebook (/RUGymnastics), Instagram (@rutgersgymnastics) and Snapchat (rutgersgym).
From Westfield, New Jersey, Jenna Rizkalla arrived at Rutgers for the 2017 season and earned the team's Most Improved Award. Last season, she hit every routine throughout the year on floor exercise to collect a team-high 9.850 RQS. Rizkalla has continued her consistency with at least a 9.700 on the event seven times so far in 2019.
Rizkalla reached career highs on three events last week at New Hampshire. She had her best vault at 9.900, while achieving that score on floor exercise for the second time as a Scarlet Knight. In addition, Rizkalla paced the team with a 9.750 on balance beam. The sport management major has served as a captain this season.
"Jenna is just happy all the time," head coach Umme Salim-Beasley said. "She comes in always smiling and she always wants to do more. She'll come to us and ask, 'what can I do to make my routines better? I really want to get a 9.9, so what can I do?' It's great to see that she really takes the initiative to come and find out how she can make this team better. Being a senior and knowing this is going to be the end of her career, she just really wants to go out on the highest note possible. Her getting two 9.9s last week was something that she was so proud of and we were so proud for her because she's worked so hard in the gym to deserve that."
Rizkalla's senior reflections…
On being at Rutgers: "When I got here it was a little scary, but the people really took me in. The people here, my teammates, coaches, everyone. Overall, it's been a really fun experience and I've learned a lot and met a lot of different people. It's just been a lot of fun."
On the gymnastics team: "Being a part of this team has been such a good opportunity that I'm really blessed to have had. I'm really fortunate to have made connections with the people on the team and I'm so thankful to be a part of it."
On memories: "One specific night I will always remember is when we beat Penn State a couple weeks ago. I will never forget that night. It was absolutely incredible. The fans that we had, the crowd was on fire, we were on fire and there was so much energy in that place. It was so much fun. It gives me goosebumps just talking about it, it was such a fun night."
On the future: "In the future, when I'm done with gymnastics, I'm a sport management major so I'd really like to work in football operations. Somewhere along those lines and stay in the sports world."
On gymnastics: "This is such a hard question. It has meant the world to me, it shaped me into the person that I am today. It's taught me that hard work will pay off and it has just helped me build so many friendships. This team really feels like my family. I'll keep the things that gymnastics has taught over the years with me for the rest of my life, and it'll really help me succeed in the real world when I'm done with it."
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics), Facebook (/RUGymnastics), Instagram (@rutgersgymnastics) and Snapchat (rutgersgym).
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Gymnastics
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