Pitt fourth at EAGLs

A season-high score and two first place finishes came home with the Panthers from the EAGL… A season-high score and two first place finishes came home with the Panthers from the EAGL gymnastic championships last week.

Pitt placed fourth in the Friday night competition with a score of 194.15, the highest the team has seen since 2004. Its average this year has been a 192.915.

Head coach Debbie Yohman was very proud of the way the team performed.

“We had a great meet,” she said. “We had some super vaults, and on beam we were pretty excited – we counted five beam routines without a fall which I think is really nice. We also did a great job on the floor, it was very, very exciting.”

Competing in Olympic order – vault, uneven bars, balance beam, followed by floor exercise – in the Comcast Center on Maryland’s campus, the Panthers trailed North Carolina State that won with a 195.475. WVU followed with a 195.3 and North Carolina scored a 194.925.

In fifth, George Washington followed Pitt with a 192.775. Rutgers, New Hampshire and Maryland succeeded the Colonials in the final three places.

Senior co-captain Andrea Arlotta, with a total of 1,531.33 career points, broke the school record during her performance. The previous record holder was Robyn Senior, who scored 1,526.45 in her 1994-97 career.

Arlotta’s all-around score of the night was 39.025, earning her fourth place. She won the uneven bars event with a 9.9.

It was her sixth uneven bars title, and she’s won the floor exercise five times this season.

Leading off with the vault the Panthers scored a 48.775, placing them in second going into the next rotation.

Freshman Dani Bryan shined in the vault, scoring a 9.9 for the event title. She’s won the event three times this season.

Following Bryan was freshman Shannon McConnell, who scored a 9.75 for 13th place.

Freshman Jess Byich tied Arlotta with a 9.725. Sophomore Anya Chayka scored a season-high 9.675, tying freshman Kirsten Dahlberg.

On uneven bars, Pitt scored a 48.45, scoring above its season average of 48.395. Sophomore Alix Croop tied her season-high score of 9.775, and Byich followed with a 9.625.

Junior Kaitlin Harrison recorded a 9.6 and Samantha DeBone scored a 9.55. DeBone, also a junior, has finished in the top three of the event twice this season.

Bryan scored a 9.1, counting a fall for this event.

The Panthers had scored a 48 in their past three meets on the balance beam heading into the EAGL Championships -they continued the streak last week.

They scored a 48.4, with Byich and Chayka leading the team with scores of 9.75, a career-high for Byich.

DeBone followed with a 9.725, and Arlotta scored a 9.6. Sophomore Andrea Konesky notched a 9.575, and Bryan’s fall cost her a high score – she finished with a 9.175.

Finishing the meet with the floor exercise, Pitt scored a 48.525. Bryan led the team, coming in sixth with a 9.825. Arlotta followed in ninth with a 9.825, and Chayka and McConnell tied with a 9.725, a season-high for Chayka. Garber came in at a 9.45 followed by Croop with a 9.4.

In the all-around competition, Bryan joined Arlotta in the rankings, placing 13th with a score of 38. The freshman competed in the all-around competition four times this season.

Arlotta also made the All-EAGL first team in every event but the beam, including the all-around.

She’s won 10 first team All-EAGL honors and four second team honors. She also made the EAGL All-Academic team.

Eight of her teammates were named to the All-Academic team as well: freshmen Bryan, McConnell and Sarah Thompson and sophomores Konesky and Nicole Kujawski. Three-time members, juniors DeBone and Nicole Drane, and senior Garber were also named.

The Panthers travel to Michigan April 14 to compete in the NCAA Regional Championships. It will be Arlotta’s first placement in that tournament.

Coach Yohman is expecting good things from the meet based on Friday’s performance.

“We’ve been working for the EAGLs all season,” Yohman said. “Our goal was to finish in the top three, which we fell a little bit shy of, but we’re very happy. We got a lot of respect back from the gymnastics community for our performances. Top three was a hard goal to begin with, and we don’t feel bad about falling short. We feel good about the future.”

Competing in the NCAA Regional Championships meet will be the top three teams from the region, three top-18 teams and several other individuals from each region.