Vanessa Zamarripa was born on August 1, 1990, in Redlands, California. During her club career, she trained at Midwest Twisters under Mickey Orr and Jenny Haden. She began attending UCLA in the fall of 2008.

Vanessa competed level nine in 2001. She finished fourth all-around and first on uneven bars at the Regional Championships. At Easterns, she finished first on bars and fifth all-around. She began competing level ten in 2002. She finished third on vault at JO Nationals. In 2003, Vanessa won vault and balance beam at the State Championships. At Regionals, she finished second all-around. She ended her season by winning vault, floor and the all-around at the JO National Championships. She finished second on beam.

In 2004, Vanessa competed as a junior pre-elite and level ten. She won the all-around at the American Challenge. This qualified her for the National Elite Training Squad. As a level ten, she won vault and the all-around at Regionals. She won her second JO National all-around title defeating future Olympians, Shawn Johnson and Samantha Peszek. She also won vault and bars. Vanessa was named Region V JO Athlete of the Year.

Vanessa continued to have success in 2005. She won vault, bars and the all-around at States. At JO Nationals, she won vault and placed second all-around. She made her third straight JO National Team. She spent all of 2006 out of competition with a back injury. After limited training, Vanessa returned in 2007 to win vault at the State Championships. She finished third all-around. At Regionals, she placed second all-around. She ended her season by winning the all-around at JO Nationals! She also won beam. During her final year as a club gymnast, Vanessa won vault at the IGI Chicago Style. At States, she won the all-around title. She also won the all-around title at Regionals. She decided to forego JO Nationals to participate in senior activities.

Vanessa immediately found success as a college gymnast in 2009. She scored three perfect tens on vault. She won 13 individual victories to lead the team. She won three Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week awards and one Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week recognition. Vanessa finished second on beam and third all-around at the Pac-10 Championships. She earned first-team All-Conference honors. She had a strong performance at the NCAA Regional Championships, finishing second on bars, third on vault and in the all-around. At the NCAA Championships, she finished third all-around. She earned five All-American honors. She earned first-team accolades in the all-around, vault, beam and floor and second-team on bars. In event finals, she finished sixth on floor, eleventh on beam and eighth on vault.

In 2010, Vanessa led the UCLA team to their fifth NCAA team title. She scored a perfect ten on vault at Cal State Fullerton. She earned three Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week and two Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week honors. Vanessa won the all-around and vault titles at the Pac-10 Championships. She earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors in the all-around. She was named Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year. At NCAA Regionals, she won the all-around title. Individually, Vanessa won the vault title at the NCAA Championship. She earned first-team All-American honors on vault, floor and the all-around. She earned second-team honors on bars. Following the NCAA season, she qualified to senior international elite. She finished seventh all-around at the US Classic. At the US National Championships, she placed eighth all-around and second on vault. She earned a spot on the US National Team. At this meet, Vanessa became only the second woman in the world to compete the Cheng vault. She tore her Achilles in December, forcing her to redshirt the 2011 season.

Fast Facts Name: Vanessa Zamarripa Birthday: August 1, 1990 Club: Midwest Twisters College: UCLA UCLA

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS Full Scholarship to UCLA Four-Time JO National Team Member 2010: US National Team 2010: NCAA VT Champion 2004: National Elite Training Squad

Click Here to View Vanessa's Videos

Photos © UCLA