As a power gymnast, Kendra Ciancio is used to being strong.

One of five seniors on the sixth-ranked ISU gymnastics team, Ciancio has to stay strong and help lead the team. She has also had to bounce back from an Achilles’ tendon tear that abruptly ended her 2001 season.

In the gym, Ciancio demonstrates her strength on the vault and floor exercises, events that are traditionally reserved for power gymnasts.

Sometimes her power, compacted into a muscular 5-foot-7 frame, can be too much to control, however.

“Kendra may think that a flip was too close to the ground, when she would really be 10 feet up in the air,” ISU head coach K.J. Kindler said.

Kindler also said Ciancio brings a great sense of humor to the gym, which helps the team compete better.

Teammate Dena Albacker agreed.

“She gets along with everyone,” she said. “She’s really good friends with everyone, underclassmen and upperclassmen.”

Ciancio said leadership is something that’s important to her.

“The five seniors work together to motivate the team,” she said. “When someone is down, we pick them up, stay together as a team.”

Academic leadership is another of her strong aspects. Ciancio has won numerous academic honors including being included on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, receiving the ISU Scholar-Athlete Award, and being an all-Big 12 academic team member.

“Kendra’s best leadership role is academic,” Albacker said. “She shows [success in gym and classroom] can be done, especially to the younger girls.”

Kindler has also recognized Ciancio’s greatest qualities outside of the gym.

“Kendra is an excellent example for the rest of the team,” she said. “She works very hard in the classroom.”

In order to balance gymnastics and school, Ciancio is very particular and organized, employing time management as needed. The determination she uses has also been helpful in other areas, such as pulling her through last year’s injury.

“It was hard,” Ciancio said of her injury, “but I was determined to take the opportunity of one more year.”

In order to get in shape for this season, Ciancio spent last summer and fall in extensive rehabilitation.

Because she doesn’t plan on competing after college, this is Ciancio’s last of more then 18 years in gymnastics. The Barrington, Ill. native has been competing since the age of three.

“My mom always wanted me to be a gymnast,” Ciancio said.

After competing throughout high school, Ciancio chose to come to Iowa State because she liked the coaches and felt the school was a perfect fit for her.

In her four years of competing, winning the Big 12 Championship in 2000 is the accomplishment she is most proud of, along with various team triumphs.

After receiving her undergraduate degree in business, Ciancio hopes to get a job in that area or go on to graduate school.

As for this year, Ciancio’s goals for the team include recapturing the Big 12 Championship and competing in Nationals.

Individually, Ciancio hopes to do well in the vault and get a position in the floor lineup, her favorite event.

After battling an injury, then coming back to help her team be one of the best in the nation, Ciancio is strength defined. But, as her coach and teammates point out, she would be the last one to admit it.