Coming from the rich tradition of Russian gymnastics, Elena (Tkacheva) Lowery [1994-97] did more than simply add to UAA’s gymnastics tradition – she set the standard by which all future Seawolf gymnasts have been measured. In her four seasons, Lowery became one of the most highly decorated UAA student-athletes in any sport.
Among her accomplishments were 10 career USAG All-America certificates, two national titles, and a host of school records. The Volgograd, Russia, native qualified all four seasons for the NCAA Div. I West Regional meet, becoming the only Seawolf to accomplish that feat more than once.
Her 38.850 all-around at the 1997 Western Independent Championships stood for seven seasons as UAA’s school record, and she still holds the top marks on bars (9.925), beam (9.85) and floor (9.95), plus season average on floor (9.788). Lowery saved her best season for last, setting the Seawolf all-around record on Mar. 22 and following that three weeks later with a dominating performance at the USAG Nationals, winning titles on floor and the all-around, plus her third career All-America honors on both balance beam and uneven bars.
That spring, she was recognized as the consummate student-athlete, taking home both the UAA Athlete of the Year Award and the Dresser Cup, awarded to the Seawolf with the department’s top overall grade point average (3.85). A multiple Academic All-America honoree, she graduated magna cum laude with a BBA in management information systems and finance in 1997, and received the William Seward Award as the finance department’s outstanding graduate.
Lowery is now a software development technical consultant at IBM, for which she is a published author and a frequent speaker at the company’s worldwide events. She is still involved with her sport as well, coaching youth teams and working as an International Gymnastics Federation judge.
Lowery and her husband Kevin reside in Rochester, Minn., where she also volunteers as a Russian interpreter for the internationally renowned Mayo Clinic. They are the parents of daughter Nadia and son Kevin.
