Photo by: Jacob Rokeach
Imagine arriving at a university where you are to compete as an athlete in a NCAA Division 1 sport and, together with all the other pressures, it’s in a country where they don’t speak your language. That is what sophomore gymnast and Caracas, Venezuela, native Jessica Lopez faced two years ago.
“It was really hard. Everything was very different. I didn’t know any English and I didn’t understand my coaches or my teammates. In classes I was like, ‘Ohmigod, what am I going to do?’ It was a really hard process,” said Lopez about the shock and stress of her arrival at DU.
Lopez was born on Jan. 22, 1986 in Caracas, which is about a six-hour plane flight from Denver.
The diminutive, 5-foot athlete first began her career in the gym at the age of 4, when she would follow her 8-year-old sister around the gym.
“I would go to the gym and play around and that is how everything started.”
Then at the age of 10, Lopez was recruited by national coaches to join the Venezuelan national team.
Lopez’s first journey to the U.S. was in 1996, when she was on vacation with her family in Orlando, Fla. Her next and most important trip to the states was in 2002, when she came to Colorado to train with one of her Venezuelan coaches. It was then that Lopez was noticed and later recruited by DU assistant coach, John Figueroa. Figueroa and DU would later offer her a scholarship, allowing Lopez to become part of the Pioneer family.
She has full heartedly embraced DU. “I enjoy competing, the team, coaches and hanging out with my friends here at DU,” Lopez said.
Last season Lopez had one of the best freshman seasons in DU history, leading the Pioneers in average on the uneven bars (9.744) and second on beam (9.713) while competing in all 13 regular season meets. Lopez had her best meet of the season against Ohio State, when she won three event titles, all being career-highs: a 9.95 on bars, 9.9 on beam and a 9.9 on floor exercise. She has since raised her career-high to 9.95 on beam against Arizona State, the highest DU score on beam since 2004.
This season Lopez has twice recorded a 9.975 on bars, a new career-high, and also twice recorded a 9.9 on the floor exercise to match her career best.
Not only is Lopez’s résumé impressive, but her past as a member of the Venezuelan national team isn’t too shabby either. Lopez was one of seven gymnasts to represent her country in the 2005 Bolivian National Games. In the 2004 Pan American Games Lopez won the uneven bars event and placed third in the all-around competition.
With that strong foundation, perhaps it isn’t surprising that Lopez has already accomplished so much in the gym since coming to Denver, but it’s her progress in learning English that is particularly impressive.
“I am forced to speak English even if I make mistakes all the time. That is the way I can learn the language more, because if I constantly talk to people that speak Spanish then I will not be able to learn.”
Lopez does not have translators, but does require the help of tutors for classes such as biology and finance.
She is majoring in psychology and is uncertain of her plans after graduation.
Lopez will be returning home this summer to once again qualify and represent her country in the Pan American Games.
The transition and life at DU may have not been the easiest for Lopez, but she is turning heads with the Pioneers.
“I really like it here, so that is why I am enjoying it. I don’t care if it is hard because this is what I want,” said Lopez. She is looking forward to the NCAA regionals this week.
