Gymnastics: Pitt’s season comes to an end

The Pitt gymnastics team sent three athletes to the NCAA regional meet, but the Panthers’… The Pitt gymnastics team sent three athletes to the NCAA regional meet, but the Panthers’ season came to an end when none of the gymnasts qualified for the NCAA national meet.

Six full teams — University of Florida, Ohio State, North Carolina State, Penn State, University of North Carolina, Kent State — were selected to attend the regional meet in Raleigh, N.C. Pitt had one all-around gymnast and two specialists selected to attend the meet.

Pitt’s all-around selection, Haley Bodenheimer, finished 17th out of 17 gymnasts in the all-around competition. The placement stemmed from an uncharacteristic fall in the floor exercises, in which she scored just 9.100.

“After I fell on the floor, I was a little upset because that typically doesn’t happen,” Bodenheimer said. “But I came back strong on the vault and finished up with a good meet on bars and beam to top off my freshman year at regionals.”

The Winston-Salem, N.C., native finished solidly in her other three events, racking up 9.825 in the vault to tie for 16th out of 42. She rounded out the night with a 9.750 in the uneven bars and a 9.700 in the balance beam, earning 27th and 26th out of 42, respectively.

Head coach Debbie Yohman said that it’s hard for individual gymnasts to go to a meet and compete without their team present.

“Haley unfortunately started on floor and had a fall on her last pass,” Yohman said. “She was doing one of her better floor routines of the year. But the floor was very bouncy, so I think both her and Katie O’Rourke put on the brakes a little bit to clean up a little bit. I think she just put on the brakes a little too much.”

“But she proceeded to get back and do an excellent job on the next three events. She had probably the best vault of her season.”

In the individual competition, sophomore O’Rourke took 31st out of 42 in the floor exercises with a 9.700. Alicia Talucci, competing in her last meet as a Panther, took 31st out of 42 in the vault with a score of 9.775.

“The vault that I did was a lot bigger, which was what we were working on,” Talucci said. “I didn’t stick it — I took a small step, but that’s what happens when you work on something new. But I am really happy with how I went out. It’s bittersweet because it’s my last meet, but it was a fun meet and there wasn’t a lot of pressure. I had a good time, and I’m glad that I ended on a good note.”

No. 1 Florida won the meet and Ohio State came in second, sending the two teams to the National Championships from April 20-22 in Duluth, Ga.

The top two all-around contestants not on the top two teams at regionals will go to Georgia to compete as individuals. No individual event competitors, such as O’Rourke and Talucci, go to the meet unless they win their events.