Freshmen trio shines in midst of gymnastics’ struggles

While the Pitt gymnastic team’s 1-6 record may not show it, the team has three outstanding… While the Pitt gymnastic team’s 1-6 record may not show it, the team has three outstanding gymnasts this year.

They have one thing in common: They’re all freshmen.

Shannon Vafiadou, Molly Moyer and Mallory Brewer have all excelled in their first season coming off extremely successful high school runs.

All three competed at Junior Olympic National competitions in 2007. Moyer finished eighth on the floor, Vafiadou finished 10th on the vault and Brewer took second on the floor.

“They are, as a group, doing what we recruit the freshman to do. We recruit freshman to come in and make our team better,” Pitt coach Debbie Yohman said. “And as a group they are not disappointing.”

At Pitt, Vafiadou is currently the only all-around competitor and has a career high of 37.9 points as well as 9.75 high on the vault.

“Shannon’s going to be solid on four events, her strength being beam and vault, which is where she was when we looked at her as a recruit,” Yohman said. “Her bars have become miles from where she started not only as a recruit but when we signed her. She’s a go-getter.” Moyer has three first-place and two second-place finishes under her belt between the floor exercise and vault and was named East Atlantic Gymnastics League Rookie of the Week after Pitt’s first meet. She’s posted two high scores of 9.85 on the floor, and on the vault she boasts a 9.8.

“Molly’s results are self-evident, she’s so consistent” Yohman said. “She’s doing exactly what we brought her in her to door, great vaults, great floor, nailing the beam.”

Brewer earned a 9.725 for a fourth place finish against Rutgers and a 9.625 on the floor against No. 3 Florida and has shown amazing energy on that event.

“Mallory’s getting stronger .We brought her in for the two power events, vault and floor, and she is stepping up on bars for us,” Yohman said. “We need a bar routine right now and bars isn’t her good event, but she’s working her can off over there.”

The team practices Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and conditions from 4:30 to 5:30. The Panthers are usually traveling on Fridays and during the weekends.

While it takes a lot of dedication, the girls wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I like how physically fit I am and how strong I am,” Moyer said. “It’s really fun, I’m addicted to it.”

Moyer didn’t start out as a gymnast and admits she’s not a natural one. She wanted to play soccer with her brother when she was only about 4 years old, but her mom wanted her children to have their own sports and find out what they were good at on their own.

“My legs were so short my mom put me in gymnastics,” Moyer said. “I just kind of stuck with it every since.”

She said her favorite events are the beam and floor – the beam because she’s a perfectionist, a quality necessary to skill on the beam, and the floor because her power on it allows her to do especially well.

Vafiadou’s favorite is the vault, even though she had to have 32 stitches last March when she hit her face on it during a routine.

“I’ve overcome a lot of stuff with the vault, but I’ve made my peace with it,” she said. “It’s been an ongoing battle, but I’ve won.”

Vafiadou said the hardest transition from club gymnastics to college was the team aspect.

“We actually [had a high school team], but there was just one person, I was the team,” she said.

“It’s a little bit different here because it’s very much a team sport. You’re not just doing it for yourself, now you’re doing it for 14 other girls.”

Moyer also loves competing at the collegiate level and loves the school itself. She chose Pitt because of its strong academic reputation and said she may want to go to medical school someday.

She added, and Vafiadou echoed the sentiment, that she chose Pitt because it “felt like home.” Vafiadou also said she wants to take exercise-science classes and may want to become a physical therapist some day.

“I really liked the school,” Vafiadou said. “It’s kind of a city and there’s always something to do. I love the coaches, and the girls are really nice.”

Love of the sport and individual skill have combined for an incredibly successful season so far for the freshmen, and there’s no sign of that changing.

“It’s pretty exciting to start out doing so well,” Moyer said. “I know I have to keep that standard high as the season goes along, but I think I can do it. It’s been fun.”