Kristi Esposito was born in Slidell, Louisiana on May 17, 1985. She is the daughter of Tony and Shari Esposito. She has three younger sisters, Laura, Alexa, and Katy. Kristi also has a younger brother, A.J. She graduated from Slidell High School in 2003. During her club career, she trained at Northshore Center for Artistic Gymnastics under Bryan Neal and Stephanie Hyett.

In 1998, Kristi competed as a level nine. She qualified to Level 9 Nationals. In 1999, she finished sixth on floor at Regionals. At Easterns, she finished third on vault and sixth on bars. She moved up to level ten in 2000. Kristi finished second all-around at Regionals. She won the uneven bars title. At JO Nationals, Kristi placed second all-around. She finished third on floor. In 2001, she won bars at States. At Regionals, Kristi won bars and finished second all-around. She won bars again at JO Nationals. In 2002, Kristi finished first all-around at Regionals. She placed third all-around at JO Nationals, qualifing for the JO National Team. Her senior year was in 2003. She won Regionals. At JO Nationals, she finished third on bars.

As a freshman at the University of Nebraska, she earned first-team All-American honors in the all-around and on beam. She earned All-Big 12 honors as well. She earned six individual titles throughout the season including three all-around titles. Kristi won the Big 12 Uneven bars title. She finished third on beam at the NCAA Championships. She earned first-team All-American honors on beam in 2005 as a sophomore. She finished second on beam. Kristi competed as both an all-arounder and as a three-event contributor. She won all-around titles at Michigan and Missouri. She earned five titles on bars and beam. Kristi earned first-team academic All-Big 12 selection and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll for both semesters.

After her sophomore year, Kristi decided to transfer to LSU. She had to sit out a year. She returned to competition in 2007. She competed on bars, beam and floor. She earned first-team All-American honors on beam. She qualified for event finals. She competed on bars six times. She earned Academic All-American honors and was on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. In 2008, she continued competing on bars, beam and floor. She won the beam title against Washington, Kentucky and Centenary.

Fast Facts Name: Kristi Esposito Birthday: May 17, 1985 Club: Northshore College: LSU LSU

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS Full scholarship to LSU/Nebraska 2002: JO Nationals- 3rd AA 2001: JO National UB Champion 2000: JO Nationals- 2nd AA

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Photos © WL Castleman