Mia Townes, a sophomore from Texas, had an unusual first year at Illinois. Her freshman campaign was difficult due to injury, filled with surgeries and setbacks.

“It was my senior year in high school … I ruptured my Achilles during the warmup of our competition,” Townes said. “I was warming up for an AA (all-around, a combination of four individual events), and it popped on the takeoff. After the first surgery, I had four other surgeries within that year. My last one was last November.”

For any athlete, the worst part is not sharing the field of play with their teammates and going through the throws of competition with them. Townes wanted to compete, but her body wouldn’t let her.

Recovery is never easy; rehab is a grueling process. Having to start it over four times and persevering through it is a testament to Townes’ internal drive and her support system.

“I get motivated by my teammates because all of them are so passionate about gymnastics, and (Coach Walsh) is super passionate about what she does,” Townes said. “It really sparks a fire in all of us. It unites us and makes us come alive.

“Another motivator is also winning the Big Ten Championship. Two years ago the girls got second … and last year, we didn’t get to compete. So we were close to winning a Big Ten Championship. That’s all we’ve had our eyes on. The fact that we didn’t get to compete last year is another big, huge motivator. We’re just waiting for the world to see us.”

A big part of her motivation comes from the confidence she has in herself, her teammates and coaches.

Coach Walsh echoed this sentiment, saying Townes grew in her trust of herself and the process. She didn’t let an injury stop her from learning and preparing for the future, which has been on full display since the women’s gymnastics team returned to campus at the beginning of the semester.

Townes knows she wouldn’t be in the place she is in now if it wasn’t for her teammates and coaches. After her fifth surgery of the year, she was devastated and instead of keeping her away, she was still involved heavily with the team.

Townes was encouraged to be at practice and in the thick of things. This gave her eagerness to start the recovery process as soon as possible.

“The culture that we’ve built and that she has played a huge part in is knowing your worth and knowing your value, even when you’re not doing all of your gymnastics,” Walsh said. “That was her story, last year, she had a ton more that she wanted to give, but the injury and the timeline held her out … Last year, the best for her was not to push her too hard on the events that her leg wasn’t ready to do.

“This year we can fully expect her to communicate well and do what she can when she can and talk to us and modify when we need to so that she can do her absolute best this year.”

Developing the Illini culture starts during recruitment. Walsh knew Townes was fit to be an Illini regardless of the injury she sustained her last year of high school, a champion-minded individual with strong physical, emotional and mental traits the women’s gymnastic’s program looks for in all its recruits.

Even with all the support Mia has gotten from her Illinois “family,” nobody can replace the strong bond she has with her parents.

“With all of my surgeries, my mom and my dad were right there, making sure I was good,” Townes said. “I’m not a super emotional person, but they knew that I was hurting and I was frustrated. This process was probably the most frustrating thing I’ve ever been through in my life. I would take a step forward, then (the doctors) would be like, ‘Nope, you have another infection.’

“Every single step of the way my dad and mom were like, ‘This is just one more thing, we believe in you … You don’t have to go through this; we will support you regardless.’”

The injury in the short term was terrible, but in long term, it was just what Townes needed to go to the next level. It made her take her body more seriously than she had ever done before.

It was also like a redshirt year, a year spent learning and studying what was going to be expected of her when she could return to the mat.

“I fully expect Mia to be a powerhouse on vault,” Walsh said. “We’re excited for her to be a leader and have a higher valued vault for our program. On beam, she is rock solid and always has been, even when she was in high school as a club athlete.

“I expect her to have a ton of finesse and confidence and to be somebody that the team can depend on. On floor, she was one of our best athletes last year. So I think that we’ll see her excel even more on that event.”

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