Aug. 13, 2007
GoRedbirds.com: What are you currently listening to on your CD player/ipod?
Amanda Candler: Fergie.
GR: What is your favorite sport to watch/play besides gymnastics?
AC: Swimming
GR: What is your best memory with the gymnastics team?
AC: It is probably last year's trip to Texas. We did a lot better than we expected. It was probably our best meet of the season, and it was a lot of fun.
GR: What are your goals as an individual for the upcoming season?
AC: I would really like to make it to the NCAA Regionals on the bars.
GR: What are you most excited about with the upcoming season and why?
AC: I am really excited because it is going to be a really young team. We have six incoming freshmen, and they are all really good. We are probably going to be the best we have been since I have been here talent wise. I think we are going to be really good.
GR: If you could date any celebrity who would it be and why?
AC: Justin Timberlake. I have loved him ever since I was little when I started listening to *NSYNC.
GR: What would your dream job be?
AC: I would love to be a sports news anchor, or I would want to host a show on E!
GR: If you could live anywhere for one year, where would it be and why?
AC: I would probably live somewhere else by the water, like Florida or California. I need to be living by an ocean.
GR: Who is your role model and why?
AC: My friend, Cory Fritzinger. She went to the University of Georgia on a gymnastics scholarship. I have competed in gymnastics with her since I started when I was six years old. I have always looked up to her.
GR: Did you always want to be a college athlete?
AC: Yes. When I started, I always knew I didn't want to become an elite gymnast or have gymnastics be my whole life. It is kind of your only other option. Either you go to the Olympics and dedicate your whole life to it, or go to a college and get a scholarship.
GR: What is your favorite meal to eat?
AC: Cheese pizza.
GR: During the 2005 season, you suffered a season-ending leg injury after four meets. How did you feel when you couldn't compete with the rest of your team?
AC: I hated it! It was horrible. But, I got past that because I knew I had to support everyone else who was competing. I still went to away meets for moral support.
GR: Was it a difficult transition moving from Virginia Beach, Va., to Normal, Ill.? Why or why not?
AC: Yes! It was very difficult because I have a lot of close friends and I am very close to my family. I am also five minutes away from the beach. The winters aren't as cold, either. It was a big transition, but I really like it. I became really close with the team and it helps a lot to have 15 best friends.
GR: What attracted you to ISU's campus?
AC: It was probably the team and the coaching staff. Everyone around here is so friendly and the campus is nice. It's not too big and it's not too small... it's just perfect.
GR: Of all of the events that you compete in, what is your favorite and why?
AC: The bars. It has been my favorite since I was little. It was the easiest, and I am naturally the best at that event.
GR: What is your greatest athletic achievement?
AC: Getting a scholarship to attend ISU. It was an easy choice.
GR: Do you have any rituals before your meets?
AC: No, I just usually listen to music. Ever since I was little, I listen to Desiree's "You Got to Be" before I compete. It calms my nerves.
GR: What is one thing most people don't know about you?
AC: Some people get intimidated from my personality, but I am really easy to talk to.
GR: If you could give a young gymnastics athlete advice, what would it be?
AC: I would tell them to stick with it. Gymnastics is a really hard sport and you have injuries. There are always times when you want to give up, but stick with it and it pays off.
GR: What is your favorite thing about ISU?
AC: Having a close knit team to be a part of. It has made coming here a lot easier. Since I am so far from home, it made school that much easier.
