Samantha Walior Class: Freshman Hometown: Prior Lake, Minn. High School: Prior Lake Height: 5-4 Experience: HS Club Team: TAGS

2008 (Freshman): Competed in all 13 meets for the Huskies in her first season on bars, beam and floor ... Was named UW's Creating Winners in Competition Award recipient after landing every routine in each meet ... Named second-team All-Pac-10 on floor ... Had a strong meet against second-ranked Utah, improving her marks on all three events ... Scored a 9.825 on bars, a career-high 9.8 on beam and a 9.85 on floor ... Finished with nine top-3 finishes, including a pair of individual event titles ... Tallied a career-high 9.9 on floor twice, once against Arizona as the Huskies scored a 49.200 - the highest UW total on floor in three years and the second time against Seattle Pacific to win the event title ... Won bars the next week in the last meet of the regular season at SPU with a career-high 9.875 ... Finished the season ranked No. 47 in the nation on floor.

Personal: Daughter of Monica and Charles Walior ... Has an older sister, Courtney (20) ... Courtney is the captain of her University of St. Thomas soccer squad ... Graduated from Prior Lake High School, where she lettered in soccer and chearleading ... Captained her cheer squad as a senior ... A four-time Board Scholar (cumulate GPA above a 3.8) ... Was coached by Bryon Hough and Mindy Kiff at TAGS South ... A five-time Region 4 All-Around Champion (2003-07) and seven-time Nationals competitor (Level 9 in 2000, Level 10 from 2002-07) ... Placed 15th in the all around with a score of 37.150 at her first Junior Nationals appearance in 2003 ... Finished 13th in the all around at the 2006 Junior Nationals with a 37.425 ... At the 2007 Junior Nationals, placed 10th on bars (9.500) and fourth on beam (9.500) en route to a sixth place finish in the all around with a total score of 38.025 ... Named Region 4 Athlete of the Year and Minnesota Gymnast of the Year in 2007.

Walior's Career Bests

Bars	9.875 at SPU (March 21, 2008)
Beam	9.800 at LSU (March 7, 2008)
Floor Exercise	9.900, twice, last vs. SPU (March 14, 2008)

Getting To Know Samantha Walior

Nickname	Sam, C-Babe, Wally
Why Washington	Academics, location & the team!
Best thing about UW	The atmosphere and the people you meet
My most memorable moment at the UW is	The football game against USC and being down on the field
Which teammate will surprise people this year	Raimey
This teammate provides the best advice	Raimey
Favorite gymnastics move	Eagle grip endo or Ohno Spin
The song I play most in my iPod or CD player	"Pop Bottles" by Birdman or "Crank That" by Soulja Boy
Favorite song to dance to	(with Kristen L.) "Crank That"
Favorite musical artist	Lil Weezy
Favorite toy as a child	Any puzzle
Favorite book	A Million Little Pieces, Helter Skelter
Favorite movie	Accepted, Mean Girls
Favorite restaurant in Seattle	Chipotle
Favorite home cooked meal	Prime rib
Favorite UW sports team to watch	Football!!!
Favorite non-Husky sports team to watch	University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey
If I won the lottery, the first thing I'd buy is	A Dodge Viper convertible (lime green)
TV show I cannot miss	Grey's Anatomy, I Love New York
Reality TV show I'd like to appear on	America's Next Top Model
If I had a super power it would be	Reading people's minds
My most prized possession	All the pictures of people I love
If I could work with any charity, it would be	Make a Wish Foundation
People don't know that I am scared of	Being alone in the dark
Most famous person I've met	Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins
The people I credit for getting me where I am today	My parents and club coaches
Favorite quote	"When Regina bought army pants and flip flops, I bought army pants and flip flops." -- Mean Girls
Very few people know this about me	My grandpa invented microwave popcorn
My advice to young gymnasts	Push yourself as hard as you can. The results will come with hard work.
The most exciting places I've ever been	Hawaii
If I could go anywhere in the world it would be	Australia or Italy
I'd like to switch places for a day with	A guy... any boy just to see how they think
My pre-meet ritual	Blasting hip hop on my iPod and just getting pumped.

Last Updated: April 30, 2008