Pitt gymnastics watch as their teammates compete in the floor exercise on Jan 28. Anna Bongardino | Staff Photographer
Pitt’s gymnastics team captured its first-ever title in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League last year. This year almost half way through the season, the reigning champion Panthers are struggling just to find a win.
Pitt (4-4 overall, 0-2 EAGL) came up just short of first place in a quad meet in Philadelphia Saturday against West Chester, Ursinus and Temple, settling for second behind the host school, Temple. The Panthers currently sit at 1-2 in dual-meet competition and have two second-place finishes in their multiple team meets.
The Panthers have struggled to find success all season on the balance beam, but Saturday the team showed significant progress in the event, scoring a season-high 48.500 points. Pitt went 1-2 in the event, with sophomore Brittany West winning the meet individual title with a score of 9.800 and senior Kelly Burak scoring second with a 9.775.
For the second rotation, Pitt’s gymnasts took on the vault and racked up another season-high event total. The Pitt women amassed 48.775 points as senior Tracey Pearson and sophomore Meagan Oscar tied for first in the event with each earning a 9.800.
In the floor exercise, the Panthers received their second highest team total of the season, scoring 48.875 points. Pearson tied with junior Dani Hall for second in the event, with both gymnasts awarded a 9.825 for their routines. First-year Alecia Petrikis tied for fourth place in the event, scoring a 9.775.
While the Panthers enjoyed some of the best performances of the season in the other three rotations, Pitt came up short on the bars. Hall led the team with a score of 9.675 which earned her third place in the meet, but she received little help from the rest of her team. The gymnasts were only able to manage a 47.375 on the bars, in large part because of two sub-9.000 routines by first-year Megan Tripp and sophomore Lucy Brett.
Pitt will try to rebound and claim an overall win at its next quad meet Friday, Feb. 10, against North Carolina, North Carolina State and William and Mary in Cary, North Carolina.
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