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Kent State Senior Wins Date With Olympic Skier

Posted March 17, 2014 | Kelli Fitzpatrick
enter photo description
Annie Rogers, Kent State senior zoology
major, landed a date with 19-year-old
Olympic bronze medalist Nick Goepper for
her YouTube video posted in response to
Goepper's call via Twitter for a Valentine
date.

(Photo provided by Annie Rogers)

The power of social media has landed one Kent State University student a date with an Olympic skier.

Nineteen-year-old Olympic bronze medalist Nick Goepper tweeted to his followers that he needed a Valentine, and asked them to show why they would want to go on a date with him using the hashtag “I Want To Date Nick.”

Annie Rogers, Kent State senior zoology major from Tallmadge, Ohio, posted a YouTube video of her singing a rendition of “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz with a personal twist. She also included outtakes to show her personality.

“I rewrote the words to relate them to Nick and me and make them kind of funny,” Rogers says.

Rogers isn’t usually a big skiing fan, and she first heard of Goepper when he appeared on Late Show with David Letterman before he headed to the Sochi Olympics.

“I watched his skiing event, and afterward I put together that he was the guy I’d seen on ‘Letterman,’ Rogers says. “He seemed like a really nice guy.”

Goepper announced on March 3 he had chosen Rogers as his date.

“Your video was amazing, and I can’t wait to hang out!” Goepper tweeted, with a Photoshopped image of the two of them together.

#IWantToDateNick had garnered attention online from Entertainment Weekly, FOX Sports and The Hollywood Reporter.

Rogers says her family and friends were “over the moon” about her winning the contest. She says she kept her expectations in check when submitting the video.

“I just tried to keep my hopes down,” Rogers says. “I didn’t want to assume anything and be disappointed.

Goepper called Rogers two days after the announcement to discuss their plans.

“He wanted to get a feel for what my interests are, so he can start thinking of different activities we can do for the date,” Rogers says. “I kind of want to be surprised, so whatever he picks, I’m sure I’ll be fine with.”

For now, Rogers is looking forward to meeting Goepper sometime in early April.

“I’m mostly excited," Rogers says. "April seems like a really long time away now. No matter what, I think we’ll at least get along and have a fun date.”

Watch Rogers’ video on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vmyW3SEURA.