Panthers end season with sixth-place EAGL finish

Pitt gymnastics coach Debbie Yohman said it best: After a frustrating season, you finish with… Pitt gymnastics coach Debbie Yohman said it best: After a frustrating season, you finish with your two best meets, and what else can you do?

At the East Atlantic Gymnastics League conference championship Saturday in Morgantown, W. Va., the Panthers notched a 193.175 final score, coming in sixth out of the eight EAGL teams and earning one first-place event finish.

WVU won the meet with a 196.05.

The frustrating part of the season Yohman had referred to was the number of injuries and the amount of falls the team had to count throughout the year. Saturday’s scores were so close that one or two fewer falls could have propelled the Panthers into fifth place.

“I think the kids were a little disappointed, but it was a hard season to get through,” Yohman said. “They hung in there and didn’t give up.

“With all the injuries and everything this season, we didn’t do badly.”

Junior Anya Chayka finished off the season by tying her career-high beam score with a 9.85 first-place finish. It was the Panthers’ third EAGL event victory in two years.

“You figure over two years there’s eight events you can win, and we have three of them,” Yohman said.

Chayka’s season average on the event was a 9.488, and Yohman said the low score was partly because of some early season injuries.

“[Her win] wasn’t an accident,” Yohman said. “[Anya] went out and got more confident on the beam toward the end of the season as she got stronger and healthier. She focused and worked on her mistakes in warm-up.”

Chayka began competing on the vault, where her season average is 9.72, later in the season, and she also earned the top score for the Panthers there Saturday with a 9.75. Continuing their strong seasons, freshmen Molly Moyer and Shannon Vafiadou scored highly at the meet and will go on to the NCAA championships April 12, as was announced yesterday.

Moyer finished Saturday with a 9.775 on floor, an event she’s dominated all season, and with a 9.725 on vault.

However, Vafiadou led the Panthers on the floor during the meet, finishing with a 9.825. She notched a 38.15 in the all-around competition for 13th place after counting a fall on the bars, the Panthers’ first event.

“She competed a little nervous on that event and then settled down and did well,” Yohman said. “She nailed her beam routine.”

Vafiadou’s 9.75 on beam, which earned her a ninth-place tie with senior teammate Sammi DeBone, and 9.7 on vault were among her highest scores of her successful freshman season.

Alix Croop has shown consistently high scores on the bars this year and topped off the year tying her season-high with a 9.8, the Panthers’ high score for the day. The score earned her fifth place, and she also notched a 9.6 on floor.

DeBone followed close behind on the bars, coming in seventh with a 9.75 and earning her 1,000th career point in the process. She ends her Pitt career with 1,017.925 points. Fellow senior Kaitlin Harrison tied with Sarah Thompson with a 9.7 on bars for 14th place. Thompson also earned 12th on beam with a 9.725. Shannon McConnell earned a 9.675 on vault for the Panthers and a 9.775 on floor, tying Moyer for 21st place.

Krista Rubini also excelled on the floor with a 9.725.

“I was just real pleased with the kids,” Yohman said. “We had the depth to finish up the season.”