Quiet and deadly is she who is named Gunder N Lightening.
Long legs and reaction time implicit in her name, Lightening has risen quickly to the forefront of the Ithaca ranks. She is able to slide through packs with a ferocity and determination that has come to be associated with her team, the SufferJets.
I met Lightening at the Team USA boot camp two days before East Coast Extravaganza in 2012. I remember watching her and wondering who she was, who she skated for and why I did not know her. She was absolutely awesome to watch in drills, each move was deliberate and no energy was wasted on needless movement. When paired up with her, in one on one drills, it was near impossible to around her legs and boney shoulder (she is able to span most of the track with her baby giraffe legs, after all).
On top of that, she was one of the nicest people I had ever met. Sweet and soft spoken, she is a skater who transforms into a monster when she’s on the track. Keep your eyes on this skater. She quickly became my newest Derby Crush when skating with her, and she’s likely to become your next Crush as well.
Gunder just completed her sophomore season with the ILWR and has a bright derby future. As a rookie, she was quickly drafted to the A-team for her natural skating skill. Her previous experience as an athlete and coach and her positive attitude earned her the position of the SufferJet's co-captain in 2012. She's a jamming force. Light on her feet, able to dart, spin, and jump, she's a fan favorite, for sure.
Watching her jamming style, it appears that she is able to just slide right off of and out of hits and blocks. Her blockers know that when they clear a path for her, Gunder will explode through it...like lightning. While she spends most of her time jamming, her fancy footwork makes her one of those blockers in the pack that are more than difficult to get around. She's always looking for ways to improve her own skills, as well as ways for her team to improve. – Camarrow, Captain, Ithaca League of Women Rollers
Thank you to photogs Tyler Shaw, Dave Wood Photography and Rick Odell for the photos used.
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