LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky’s Women’s Gymnastics team has had a successful season so far, with two program records, as they near the end of their season.

Hailey Davis is a junior on the team and has been doing well with her floor routine; a special tribute to her late father, Ryan.

What You Need To Know

  • UK gymnast Hailey Davis dedicated her floor routine to her late father

  •  He passed away prior to the start of her sophomore season

  •  She chose rock classics to perform to because that was the kind of music he listened to

  • The team has had a successful season as they near some of their most important competitions

Davis started gymnastics at a young age, and it became her passion. Among the people supporting her was her father.

“He would come to all my meets, and cheer me on, and give me little corrections, and so it was just a bond that I was so thankful to have,” said Davis.

Before her sophomore year began, tragedy struck for the student-athlete’s family when her father unexpectedly passed away. Despite her devastating loss, she competed that season.

“It was more of a like a, ‘I’ve got to do this for him,’ like, my dad would want me to be strong,’” said Davis.

A supportive environment can be seen in the UK gym. Claps and cheers echo throughout practice as the young women support one another when practicing floor routines and jumping from one bar to the other. It was this kind of support that helped Davis through the hardest of times.

“There were sometimes where it was just too much for me to be able to get through practice, like, certain things that would come up into my brain and I would have to step away, and so the girls that were in the locker room would kind of give me a little pep talk and then I’d come back out here and finish practice,” said Davis.

To honor her father, Davis dedicated her floor routine to him this season by performing to some of his favorite songs. Among the songs are rock classics like “Thunder” by AC/DC.

“My dad and I used to joke in the kitchen all the time about, like, how I needed to do my floor routine to ‘Jump’ by Van Halen and he would show me the music video of them, dancing and doing jumps and things like that,” said Davis.

Floor routines to rock are not very common but it has been going well for Davis throughout the season.

“The judges really get into it because obviously a lot of the judges that come to our meets are from that generation, and so that’s kind of like their music that they listen to. So I can always tell when they really enjoy it because you can see them smiling and nodding their heads to it,” said Davis.

The team overall has had a strong season as they head into some of their final competitions.

“I feel very good about where this team is right now,” said Tim Garrison, the head coach. “We’re well-positioned to go into the post-season at this point.”

With some of their most important competitions ahead, the women are hard at work and focused.

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