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D'Anna Piro reminds teammates of Wonder Woman by finding time for not only school and gymnastics, but for ASOSU Senate, SAAC and salsa dancing. Piro, a fifth-year senior is the 11th OSU gymnast to receive four-straight Scholastic All-American honors.

Wonder Woman Piro makes time stand still

Senior D'Anna Piro competes for OSU on bars, will attend Stanford Business School

By: Casey Grogan

Posted: 3/4/09

One member of the Oregon State gymnastics team described her teammate as "our Wonder Woman."

The Wonder Woman on the OSU roster does not have a "Lasso of Truth," and she does not come from a Land of Amazons. Instead, senior D'Anna Piro hails from Lake Oswego and is a member of the gymnastics team. Being a student athlete is only part of what makes Piro the Beavers' Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman had her super powers; Piro's biggest power is having the ability to stop time. Stopping time is seemingly the only way that Piro can do all of the things that she does.

As a student athlete, Piro is double majoring business administration and exercise and sport science in the University Honors College. Add school to the 20 hours a week spent in the gym and Piro really might need to be able to freeze time in order to do anything else.

"I actually enjoy going to classes," Piro said. "Sitting in classes and learning I find absolutely fascinating. I like to participate in programs where I can grow and become bigger; like last year I was able to partake in something called Strengths Quest Training. It teaches people what their strengths are and that was really cool because I learned a lot about myself and learned a lot about why I have a difficulty dealing with other people. By that I have become a better person in my leadership ability."

Finding time to do other things is something that Piro has become an expert in, and she has filled in the little free time she has with other activities. Piro has somehow found time to serve as an ASOSU senator, stand as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and dance with the Rumbanana Salsa Dancing Performance Group.

"She encapsulates what a student-athlete is," junior Mandi Rodriguez said. "She has her priorities lined up - she just really gets it. When she sets her mind to something, she doesn't stop until she achieves it, and that is something that is very admirable."

A fifth-year senior at Oregon State this year, Piro began her gymnastics career here in 2005. During her redshirt season she was recognized for accomplishments in the classroom, and it was during her redshirt freshman season that Piro took to the bars in competition for the Beavers.

Piro had impressed the OSU coaching staff enough to earn her the alternate spot at the beginning of the season. Due to injuries, Piro was regularly part of the bars lineup, giving her a jump on securing a spot for the 2007 season as a regular part of the OSU bars rotation.

During the 2006 season Piro once again was recognized in the classroom, pocketing her second Scholastic All-American honor. Beginning 2007 in the competitive lineup, Piro received a rude greeting her redshirt sophomore season opener at the University of Florida. In Gainesville, Fla., Piro scored a 9.075, which would be her lowest score of the year as she went on to hit the next eight routines she completed during the season. Piro posted a 9.900 on the uneven parallel bars at Boise State, marking her career high on the apparatus.

"I love watching her on bars," junior Whitney Watson said. "If you work hard and keep going at it, you'll accomplish anything. She is really an inspiration."

The 2008 season proved, though, that Oregon State's Wonder Woman was not indestructible. After the 2007 season, Piro underwent surgery, putting her in a position in which becoming healthy enough to crack a lineup early in the season was nearly impossible. OSU sported a strong bars team, and with rehab as her first priority, Piro was once again forced to watch her team compete from the sidelines.

"Anytime you spend 20 hours a week doing something, it is hard when you are not out there," Piro said. "It is hard when you've had a role and had that role transform completely. Coming back from shoulder surgery was harder than I thought it was going to be. I had seen other people come back from surgery and I had come back from a surgery in high school. It seemed like it was easier for those people and that's partly because I was blind to their difficulties and needs."

Once again, however, Piro was able to excel as a student. Piro was chosen by OSU's National Association for Sport and Physical Education as Outstanding Major of the Year and became the 11th OSU gymnast to be named a four-time Scholastic All-American.

Piro spent part of her redshirt junior year working on her future as she applied for graduate school. Shooting for two of the best schools she could, Piro applied for Graduate Business School at Harvard and Stanford.

With the 2009 season underway, Piro anxiously awaited news from the two schools as she tried to fend for a spot on the bars lineup against talented returnees and a spectacular freshman class.

"It's always challenging," head coach Tanya Chaplin said. "It really makes you think about what you want out of the sport. It is really easy to not come back and say 'I've had a good career' and be done. Did she hit that wall for a little bit? Yes she did, but she has come back hungrier than ever. She has done a great job and for her to break into the lineup and exhibitions spots is great after a surgery like she has."

On Jan. 21, the fateful day arrived for Piro, as she learned she would not be attending grad school at Harvard. Knowing she would not be off to Cambridge, Mass., Piro partook in the team afternoon practice, only to notice a message waiting for her on her phone.

"I took the GMAT and did fairly well," Piro said. "I went through the long process of essays, applications and references, then submitted my application. I interviewed over winter break and then they called me. I heard in the morning from Harvard that I didn't get in and as I was walking out of the gym, I was listening to my messages and heard from Stanford that I did get in. I ran back into the gym jumping up and down screaming 'I got into Stanford!' I was so excited."

Set to attend grad school in Palo Alto, Calif., it seemed only fitting that Piro would compete for the first time in the 2009 season at Stanford. Now having competed in two meets, Piro posted her season high 9.775 in OSU's meet against the Stanford Cardinal.

Debuting competitively on the campus of her graduate school future may have been a fitting sign of what is to come for D'Anna Piro, maybe even worth putting into a comic book.

Casey Grogan, sports editor

sports@dailybarometer.com