Fractions of a point stood between the Panthers and their seventh win going into the last… Fractions of a point stood between the Panthers and their seventh win going into the last rotation Friday night when the women’s gymnastics team traveled to Kent State.

But the Golden Flashes earned the victory by pulling ahead on the balance beam, taking the non-conference meet 194.95 to 193.375.

Despite the loss, Pitt (6-5) made its mark with season-high scores in two events and a season-high team score.

“It was a close match, a very exciting match,” Pitt head coach Debbie Yohman said. “I think that we took care of a lot of the problems we had last week. They beat us on vault by a 10th [of a point], but it was our highest vault performance of the year and our best vault performance. All of our vaults were very solid.”

Kent State (8-2) took three of the four events, but Pitt won the uneven bars competition 48.450 to 48.075. Senior captain Andrea Arlotta tied for first with Kent State’s Kristin Peters with a score of 9.8.

“We had a great bar set,” Yohman said. “They might not have been our best bar routines – the bars were a little different – but the girls adjusted very well and did a very good job competing. We were happy there – not satisfied – but happy. We were off by just a little.”

The Panthers lost the vault competition in spite of scoring their season-high 48.825, with Kent State’s Brittany Kopp winning the event with a score of 9.875.

Leading the Panthers in second place was freshman Dani Bryan, who notched a score of 9.85, followed by three Panthers tying for the third-place position.

Arlotta and freshmen Jessica Byich and Shannon McConnell scored 9.8, a career high for both freshmen.

The final score on the floor exercise was Kent State 49.15 overcoming Pitt’s season-high 48.95.

The Golden Flashes’ Laci Hendress tied with Arlotta for the win with a 9.9. Bryan received a career high score of 9.825 and tied for fourth place.

Going into the last rotation winning 146.225 to 145.8, Pitt had three falls on the balance beam and lost 48.8 to 47.15, costing them the win.

Sophomore Andrea Konesky earned third place with a personal high score of 9.8. Byich also hit a career high with a score of 9.575 but the Golden Flashes’ Kristin Peters won the event with a score of 9.925.

Coach Yohman commented on the lower-beam performances in the last two weeks and their effects on the match overall.

“We were ahead going into the last event and just couldn’t hold it together on beam,” Yohman said. “What I think is happening a little bit is the team’s trying too hard and losing focus instead of just doing what we do in practice.

“Beam is the event that this shows up on – it’s where we run into that problem. It’s not an issue of talent – I know that we have the ability – so now we just have to settle down and stay on.”

Three of Pitt’s gymnasts, Arlotta, McConnell and Byich, scored well in the all-around but were unable to defeat Kent State’s Jill Kowalski, the only one of Kent’s gymnasts who participated.

Kowalski tallied a 38.925, followed by Arlotta with a 38.825, McConnell with a 38.725 and Byich with a 37.8.

The next stop for the Panthers is their final home match. Pitt will host the Missouri Tigers and the Central Michigan Chippewas this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House.

Coach Yohman already has her strategy lined up.

“I think we might just have to step back from focusing too much on one event,” Yohman said. “We may just have to pay a little bit of attention to individuals on beam.

“We just want four solid events. We want to win.”