Alie Glover has been rolling around in the gym since she was just 3 years old.

“I had way too much energy as a kid,” Glover said and laughed. “My mom thought putting me in gymnastics would help, but I don’t think she anticipated it would go this far.”

Glover, an all-around gymnast for the Hawkeyes, had an outstanding opening season last year. She was the only GymHawk to compete in all 12 meets as a freshman and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Feb. 8 after claiming the all-around title against Michigan State and Illinois-Chicago with a career-high score of 39.050.

In that meet, Glover scored 9.825 in her favorite event — the floor.

She said she enjoys anything that allows her to be creative, which could be why floor is her favorite.

“You can show off your personality and just have fun with it,” she said.

As a sophomore, Glover said, she enters the season with more confidence and a different mindset.

“Last year was about getting comfortable with the routines,” she said. “This year, I’m really looking to sharpen my moves and work on my consistency.”

“Just seeing her in the gym, she is confident, and you can tell,” said Emma Stevenson, a senior on the 2012-13 squad. “She is upgrading on floor to a double layout, which not many collegiate gymnasts are doing.”

Glover, along with fellow all-around teammate Sydney Hoerr, appeared on the Big Ten Watch List on Dec. 13.

They will be a dominant pair on floor this year, said head coach Larissa Libby.

When speaking about her goals for the season, Glover said it was to become more of a leader in and out of practice for the younger women on the team. Only after that did she mention that a top-two finish at the Big Ten or national meet would be an honor.

“Alie is a lead-by-example type of leader,” Stevenson said. “She does her job in and out of practice every day.”

Glover leads an inexperienced but dedicated team of six freshmen and no seniors.

Despite the squad’s youth, Libby’s expectations remain the same. “It is absolutely a goal of ours,” Libby said, describing her hopes the team will make its seventh-consecutive NCAA appearance.

The 10-year head coach will look for her sophomore’s leadership to be successful this season.

For Glover, her favorite experience in the Black and Gold came at the end of last season.

She considers the March 8 Senior Night against Iowa State to be the highlight of her college career so far.

“We had everything stacked against us, but we pulled together and had great performances,” Glover said. “It was a great way to say goodbye to the seniors — it was really special.”