California coach loses life in attacks
September 21, 2001 by The Red and Black Archives
Filed under Sports
The Georgia gymnastics team and the rest of the sports world
were deeply saddened by the tragic Pentagon plane crash, which
took the life of gymnastics coach Mari-Rae Sopper.
Sopper, a former appellate attorney with the U.S. Navy, was
pursuing her dream that Tuesday morning, traveling on American
Airlines flight 77 to take a new job as the head coach of the
University of California- Santa Barbara gymnastics program.
Accepting the challenge of reinstating the school’s program, the
former Iowa State most valuable player was to meet the team
Saturday with high hopes and expectations for the upcoming
season.
“Here is this girl, who all her life had considered coaching, and
she was finally going to live her dream,” Amy Pyle, Sopper’s former
gymnastics coach at Iowa State, told the Inverness Daily Herald.
“Obviously, her dreams were cut short.”
Sopper, well known for her beautifully choreographed floor
routines, never had a chance to get the program back on its
feet.
“I knew that (California) had reinstated its gymnastics program,”
said Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan. “She was really ambitious
– accepting that challenge speaks highly of her.”
Yet, in the aftermath of this horrible tragedy, the gymnastics world
has come alive in support of Sopper.
Mike Jackey, the president of the College Coaches Association
and personal friend of Sopper, sent word of Sopper’s death to the
nation’s coaches, including Yoculan.
“This tragedy hits home by the way it’s affecting all Americans,”
Yoculan said. “Everything has been turned upside down. It makes
you realize that we’re all so vulnerable. It’s so sad for someone so
young with so many dreams to have been taken away. (Sopper)
had so much life, and she was very excited about her future.”
As the world absorbs the reality of the tragedy, the gymnastics
community is reaching out, setting up a memorial Web site for
Sopper and starting the Mari-Rae Sopper Memorial Gymnastics
Fund providing gymnastics’ scholarships.
The Gym Dogs are doing their part to raise awareness about the
tragedy.
In a letter sent to The Red & Black from Cliff Fritzinger, Gym Dog
sophomore Cory’s father, one Gym Dog parent expressed what
the memorial fund could do for Santa Barbara’s gymnastics
program.
“We are trying to extend the memorial fund to save California’s
gymnastics program,” said Cliff Fritzinger’s letter.
“It seems the least we can do to honor he memory.”
So, now the Gym Dogs, striving to achieve their dreams, will
remember the hopes of Sopper.
“I wonder what the girls in California will do,” said sophomore Cory
Fritzinger. “It’s devastating and unfortunate. But, we have to keep
moving and practicing.”
