When they see her
smile . . .

. . . it means Janae Whittaker is on top of her game and the world

Penn State women's gymnastics coach Steve Shephard noticed something special about Janae Whittaker during his recruiting travels three years ago.

Even though he saw speed, power and a high level of difficulty in Whittaker's routines, one thing in particular caught his eye -- her personality.

"She's always smiling," he said. "She never lets anything get her down and she loves gymnastics."

Under a backdrop of a mild February sun, Whittaker, a native of Central Square, N.Y., relaxed on a bench in the Simmons Hall quad. She described herself as outgoing, humorous and very personable.

"I think in meets I tend to be very energetic and spirited," she said. "I think that off the mat I'm kind of the same way, pretty energetic and a happy person."

To highlight Whittaker's easy-going nature, Shephard recalled a moment during the team's Cat Classic trip last weekend. Whittaker went up to a person in the airport and pretended that he was famous and got a picture with him.

In another instance, while the Lady Lions were performing a standing tuck at the start of practice, Whittaker decided to try a standing full, a move she had never done before. So, without any picture in her mind of how to do it she attempted it and landed on her side.

"I couldn't believe she did it but that's Janae for you," junior Ellen Casey said. "She definitely is a risk taker."

Whittaker's love of the sport began when she was 7. Her older sister, Melissa, was involved in gymnastics at the time and Whittaker became interested in it. They would perform routines around the house with Melissa coaching her younger sister.

"We also had a mattress in the basement," Janae said. "That's where I learned back handsprings. We would just flip around on that with our friends. Then we got a trampoline when I got a little older and that became a big hit in the neighborhood."

Throughout her gymnastics career, Whittaker has shown her upbeat personality in various humorous moments on the mat. In her first meet as a Lady Lion, she forgot her floor routine and decided to make it up as she went along.

After falling on her first pass, Whittaker "blanked out." She did her second pass, repeated it and heard Casey yell, "Last pass, Janae." Whittaker did her last pass and improvised her final three jump combinations.

"The whole team was on the sideline laughing and our trainer was laughing but he didn't know what was so funny because he didn't know the routines as much," she said.

Casey chuckled when she recalled that moment.

"It was definitely very funny," she said. "She just looked so frazzled. It turned out OK, it was just a funny memory."

Another instance where Whittaker made the best out of a tough situation occurred during the first home meet this season. After doing a pike on her vault, Whittaker was surprised to hear assistant coach Jessica Bastardi say, "Pike first and then half." This attempt would be a pike half vault, a 10.0 start value and one that she did not warm up for in the touch period. Despite the pressure, she went for it.

Brushing off memories of past mistakes on the pike half, Whittaker paused for an extra second, took off and hit her dismount. She received a 9.75 and was ecstatic.

"All of the sudden I was in the air and I just landed and my hands were on the mat and I screamed right there, 'Whew!' " she said. "I saluted to the judge because I was so excited that my hands weren't on the mat, only my feet were."

Through her meet experience the past two seasons, Whittaker has become a leader on the team and has passed her knowledge on to the younger gymnasts. She said she tries to guide them as best she can.

Shephard said Whittaker provides a very supportive ear for the team to talk to. He added she is easy to come to and talk about things because she is non-judgmental.

While displaying a positive attitude on and off the mat, Whittaker takes on life with a smile. Although some people would be disappointed after a fall, she just brushes it off.

"Janae will miss something and fall really hard and get up laughing," Shephard said. "She laughs in the face of adversity."