On The Plains with Sydney Schumaker: From D-3 to the SECOn The Plains with Sydney Schumaker: From D-3 to the SEC

On The Plains with Sydney Schumaker: From D-3 to the SEC

AUBURN, Ala. – Sydney Schumaker never thought she would find herself in the state of Alabama. She grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York and began her college career at SUNY Brockport, a Division III school just outside Rochester, New York. But when she found herself making the leap to Division I, Auburn became the clear choice.

SUNY Brockport has an undergraduate population of 6,000, so making the switch to Auburn – with an undergraduate population of more than 25,000 – was a significant shift for Schumaker.

“When I came on campus for my visit, I wasn’t overwhelmed with anything. But it was still a big change and definitely the size was something,” Schumaker said. “Then, how much support was given to all athletics, I feel like from D-III there wasn’t as much love and support. It’s like a whole different world here.”

Schumaker fit in quickly at Auburn as she earned a spot in the vault lineup early and got her first taste of competition in Neville Arena in December at the team’s annual Preview Meet.

“My thought process going into it was, 'All right, I know there are more people than usual at the preview meet, but you know the environment, you’ve done it one time, just chill. It will be fine.' It ended up being one of the best vaults I’ve ever competed in my life,” she said. 

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The Neville Arena crowd for the Preview Meet might have seemed like a lot to Schumaker, who was used to competing in front of far less people at SUNY Brockport, but it was nothing compared to Auburn’s first SEC home meet against Kentucky a month later. The meet was sold out.

“Competing and seeing the intro video on the big screen, then all of us running out, I almost passed out,” Schumaker said. “I was like, 'Oh my God, this is so insane. I have to go vault now.’”

And a big vault it was. In what was her first official meet, Schumaker stuck her landing on her Yurchenko tuck 1 1/2 and scored a 9.900 to tie for first in the event – much to the delight of the Auburn faithful.

“Seeing how many people support Auburn Gymnastics, regardless of if you fall or not, it’s such a good family aspect that I love about this school,” she said.

Reflecting on her time at SUNY Brockport, Schumaker acknowledges there were bumps along the road. The coach she came in with retired. She got a new coach. And then, like all student-athletes at the time, she had to navigate through the COVID pandemic.

But while her time at Brockport might not have been the smoothest, it helped her become the gymnast she is today and truly appreciate her opportunity at Auburn.

“It taught me a lot of love for the sport because we were there by choice,” Schumaker said. “There was no money involved or anything. It’s what we chose to do to continue with gymnastics. Coming here with all the new shiny things, the new locker room, and so many coaches – I went from only having one at my last school to having one for each event – how much support there is just for being a student-athlete here is incredible.

“Now, having been at two ends of the spectrum, I will never take anything for granted because it’s so special what they do.”

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Going from Division III to Auburn might seem like an easy choice given the opportunity, but it was no small feat for Schumaker to make such a drastic life change.

“What I’ve been saying to myself is no risk, no story,” she said. “Because this was a big risk for me to uproot my life and come here, and it was probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Being uncomfortable is OK.”

Schumaker would not have been able to get where she is today without some help and specifically the support her mother, Kristine, who was a gymnast at Iowa State.

“There were times when I wanted to give up due to injuries or COVID and all of that, and she was always someone who pushed me but never too much to the point where it was over the edge,” Schumaker said. “She always supported what I wanted, and it was nice to have someone that close and knew what I was going through and could fully understand because she went through the same thing herself.”

Schumaker’s sister, Shelby, also did college gymnastics at SUNY Brockport.

As a senior this year, Schumaker’s time as an undergrad is ticking away. But she is already planning for the next step.

“Once I graduate, I’m going to get my MBA and I have some ideas about what I want to do,” she said. “I’m interested in medical device sales and being a sales rep, so that’s an idea of why I want to get my MBA and kind of keep my options open. My first step in anything is getting my MBA and finishing school.”