'Holy cow, I'm back'

Gymwoman Duggan returns after injury hiatus

When Heather Duggan nailed her tsuk-full on vault, she didn't throw her arms triumphantly in the air. She didn't smile for the judges, either. She stood motionless, with her knees slightly bent and her arms spread wide.

She was stunned.

Rec Hall's crowd erupted and in an instant Duggan remembered what she had to do next -- salute the judge.

Duggan didn't have to look at the score, a 9.85, to know how good her effort on vault was or what it meant. The instant her feet perfectly hit the mat, she redeemed herself from one year's worth of injuries.

Last year, Duggan went through four surgeries -- one on her gall bladder, two on her shoulder and one on her knee. She was unable to compete during her senior year in high school because she had mononucleosis. Duggan last competed three years ago.

Her preseason goal seemed reasonable -- to compete on the same level she had prior to her illness -- but it turned out to be more difficult than she expected.

"I expected it immediately," she said. "When it didn't happen, I got frustrated. I expected to come back in one day, and it just didn't happen."

Last Sunday, Duggan proved to the crowd of more than 3,000 gathered for Penn State's quad meet against Arizona, West Virginia and Temple that she was back.

She didn't prove it by her effort on vault alone. She continued her dynamic performance with an electrifying floor exercise that scored .55 better than her season best.

Waiting for the music to play, Duggan's face appeared determined, almost angry.

After the last note of music played, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

"I felt like jumping up and down," she said. "It was the best feeling in the world . . . I was just like, 'It's about time.' "

Running off the floor, her head brimming with frazzled thoughts, she found the arms of her teammates and coaches.

"When I ran off the floor, I wasn't thinking about the score," she said. "I was thinking about adding to my routine.

"I saw my mom crying in the crowd. She knew that I would be back, but there was always that thought that I wouldn't."

Teammate Janae Whittaker, who has known Duggan since eighth grade, was one of the first people to offer congratulations. Whittaker is, perhaps, the teammate who understands Duggan's experience best.

"I was proud of her for finally putting everything together," Whittaker said. "She's never really had the experience and rewards of competing."

Perhaps what made Duggan's score of 9.85 even more satisfying was that she handled the pressure she placed on herself.

"I looked so determined and angry before the routine because I needed to do it," she said. "I knew I needed to, for myself and to be in the lineup."

Now that Duggan is back, she's focused on capitalizing on her capabilities. Those capabilities, according to coach Steve Shephard, could be endless.

"I think she could be an All-American on vault. She has a more difficult move than what she competed with on Sunday," Shephard said. "She has unlimited potential."

Whittaker sees a gold mine of talent in the redshirt freshman as well.

"She's a great tumbler -- she dances and smiles. When she gets her tumbling in, she'll move down in the lineup," Whittaker said. "Right now her floor routine is really watered down."

And a watered-down routine is not going to be good enough for Duggan.

"Of course I'm happy to be back," she said. "But I'm really looking to ways that I can improve."