Oct. 8, 2012

STANFORD, Calif. - On Sunday, we asked the question, Who Am I? Today, the identity of the mystery Stanford gymnast is revealed: It's Stanford senior captain Nicole Dayton.

In a poem posted Sunday on gostanford.com, Dayton gave some clues as her identity. Among the characteristics she revealed: "I am insightful and driven," and "I pretend my family is with me always."

Enjoy the video introduction and the Q&A with Nicole:

Q: How have your first couple weeks back to campus been?
A: I’ve been back on campus for a while now, but the first few weeks of training and school have been great. We had an amazing retreat at Costanoa, and it’s been full speed ahead ever since. Preseason is a lot of conditioning and working back into routine shape, so physically we are pushing to our limits every day.

We’re going into Week Three of classes, so our schedules are really ramping up and getting into full swing for this quarter. This week, we’re going to be doing more gymnastics and giving our muscles a week to recover from hard conditioning. I think we’re all really excited to start working more numbers on the events so we can focus on all the tiny details early on. Everyone is looking great, getting stronger and bringing energy to the gym as we push through ridiculous circuits and conditioning lists.

Q: Is there anything you're particularly excited about academically this year?
A: I’m really excited about taking the EMT class. It’s a year-round course that prepares you to take NREMT (National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians), so I could become a certified EMT in the Spring. The class is really hands on and we get to do a lot of scenarios and interaction with the other students.

Q: Do you have a favorite memory from SWG so far?
A: Probably during the first week of practice when we started dancing and clapping to Gangnam style during the last round of a ridiculous circuit. We were all dead tired and sweating like crazy, but were laughing and dancing around like it was the beginning of practice.

Q: What’s your funniest SWG story?
A: What isn’t my funniest SWG story? I could write a thesis about all the hilarious times I’ve experienced while here. One that sticks out in my mind was during Pac-12 skits last year when my group did “The Pac-12 Hunger Games.” Ivana Hong, who was usually fairly quiet, stole the show with her Mathlete performance, stunning floor interpretation and a ridiculous cat walk. I was in the skit with her and could barely act my part because I was laughing so hard.

Q: The team’s motto this season is “All in. Every Moment.” Is there a particular time that that really resonated with you?
A: Last week, the coaches gave us an opportunity to earn morning weights off. Taylor Rice, a freshman, was put under pressure to catch a Jager with everyone watching. If she made it, we had no morning workout. I think everyone really, really wanted that morning to sleep in a little bit. It was a moment where everyone seemed to be on the same wavelength, cheering for and supporting her in what she was doing. It was a special connection that is vitally important for successful teams. When you have an entire team living every part of each routine, that’s when you truly achieve greatness.

Q: What are you looking forward to the most about the upcoming season?
A: I really love this team. I’m so excited to make more memories with everyone, both together and individually. During the first week of practice while we were just doing conditioning, we showed such an amazing spirit. I can’t wait to see that spirit come to life through the rest of preseason and into season.