Tough break for Pitt gymnastics

The Pitt women’s gymnastics team had a rough spring break.

The Panthers came in second… The Pitt women’s gymnastics team had a rough spring break.

The Panthers came in second place in their last home match, falling to Missouri, and came in third at Arkansas, losing to the Razorbacks and West Virginia.

Nevertheless, it was an exciting week for the ladies.

Senior co-captain Andrea Arlotta was named East Atlantic Gymnastics League Gymnast of the Week for the second time this season, and freshman Dani Bryan was named the league’s Specialist of the Week.

Both girls performed excellently in their March 3 match against Missouri and Central Michigan. Bryan had a personal-high score on the vault of 9.925, winning the event for the third time this year, another personal high of 9.75 on the uneven parallel bars and a career high of 9.825 on the floor exercise. Bryan’s 9.925 is currently the highest in EAGL this season.

Arlotta tied Bryan for first place on the floor exercise, winning it for the fifth time this season, and had a personal high score of 39.275 in the all-around competition.

The Panthers led after the first two rotations then headed to the balance beam. As they prepared for the event that’s cost them the last few matches, the girls spread out around the gym performing perfect cartwheels and aerial somersaults in straight lines, practicing for the beam.

Pitt’s score of 47.925 lost to Missouri’s score of 49.15 and Central Michigan’s 48.1. However, the score was an improvement from past weeks.

“We started off the season saying that beam was a huge event for us because we had so many good people,” Pitt head coach Debbie Yohman said. “We backed down a little bit this week and kind of admitted that beam’s our weak event right now, and I think that took a little of the pressure off.

“I think the boogeyman will be off our back now, and we can get on with business and get a little bit better and a little bit better, and by the end of the season we’ll be where we want to be.”

Other highlights included junior Samantha Debone tying her personal best score on the beam and winning the event with a score of 9.9. Freshman Jess Byich competed in the all-around competition for the second time this season, earning a personal-best 38.425 for fifth place.

The final scores of that match were: Missouri – 195.75, Pitt – 194.275 and Central Michigan – 192.6.

A crowd of 803 showed up to the Fitzgerald Field House despite the fact that most of the University was deserted with students away on spring break. With three teams in the gym, the energy was high.

The Panthers’ team score was a new season high, and Yohman was happy with the results despite the loss. Three of Pitt’s gymnasts came in first in their events, and the team placed first in the vault and floor exercise. On the vault, the Panthers tied their season-best score of 48.825.

“We still weren’t perfect,” Yohman said. “We still didn’t have as many smiles as we want to see, but we were better than last week.”

The Panthers next traveled to Arkansas on March 9 in the first of three meets against top-25 teams.

No. 11 Arkansas won with a score of 196.25. No. 23 West Virginia followed with a score of 194.3 and the Panthers placed third with a 193.35. New Hampshire scored 192.65 to finish fourth.

The Panthers have scored more than 193 for the past three weeks in a row. They scored well in all of their events with a 48.6 on vault, a 48.05 on the bars and a 48.225 on the floor.

Other highlights from the match were Bryan scoring a career high of 38.825 in the all-around, Kirsten Dahlberg with a career high on the vault scoring a 9.7 and Arlotta tying a career-best score of 9.9 on the bars, also tying for first place in the event.

The Panthers again showed improvement on the beam. Nailing all of their routines, they scored a 48.475. Sophomore Anya Chayka achieved a career-high score of 9.8.

“We were really proud of the girls,” Yohman said. “They worked really hard and did a great job. We were excited because we beat New Hampshire for the second time this year, and we were a lot closer to West Virginia than we were at the beginning of the year.”

The Panthers and will travel next to NC State on March 16.