Injuries held Pitt Gymnastics back

From great victories and prestigious awards to falls leading to injuries and ultimately to… From great victories and prestigious awards to falls leading to injuries and ultimately to losses, the Pitt gymnastics team sure learned a thing or two about overcoming hardships this season.

“The beginning of the season was great,” head coach Debbie Yohman said. “We were improving our score every meet.”

The Panthers kicked off the 2006 season in a tri-meet against Michigan State and Western Michigan, in which they placed second after defeating Western Michigan. In this meet, all-around competitor Andrea Arlotta claimed her position as team leader when she finished second in the all-around competition and led the Panthers on vault and balance beam. Samantha DeBone also stepped it up for Pitt with her second-place performance on the uneven bars. Robyn Marszalek stood out as yet another great contributor with her second-place performance on the floor exercise. Jessica Garber’s efforts on the floor exercise earned her the EAGL Specialist of the Week honor.

This would set the tone for how the followings matches went down.

In the Panthers’ home opener, they dominated Rhode Island by nearly three points with a score of 188.5-185.575. On vault Nicole Drane and Kaitlin Harrison came up with top-notch performances to help the Panthers to their victory. Arlotta, Amanda Rushton and Victoria McGuigan-Carl all shined with career-highs on the vault. On the uneven bars, Arlotta claimed her second event title of the night. Lindsay Swan contributed to the win with a noteworthy performance as well. Once again DeBone and Marszalek fulfilled their duties on the balance beam and floor exercise, respectively, with first-place performances. Jessica Garber delivered a third-place performance on the floor.

In their conference opener, the Panthers suffered their first loss of the season to New Hampshire. Although they lost, they still delivered their best performance yet with a score of 191.160.

The next two matches also marked wins for the Panthers, who appeared to be gaining confidence.

First, they overcame Rutgers with a new season-high score of 191.950. On vault and uneven bars, the Panthers filled the top three spaces of both. Arlotta, Anya Chayka and McGuigan-Carl dominated the vault, while Arlotta, April Pearson and DeBone controlled the uneven bars. Arlotta captured her third all-around victory while Drane came in third in her first all-around competition of her career.

In one of most pivotal meets of the season, Pitt overcame three teams in a quad meet against Ohio State, Maryland and SUNY Brockport. It was as if the Panthers could do nothing wrong, hitting every routine. Arlotta captured her fourth all-around while DeBone took first on the balance beam.

Marking the halfway point in the season was the Missouri Cat Classic in which Pitt finished second to Missouri and defeated Ball State and Northern Illinois. Arlotta, Harrison and Alix Croop’s routines on the vault qualified them to move on to round two the next day. On the beam, DeBone, Chayka, Arlotta and Drane delivered their second-best performances thus far. DeBone and Chayka advanced. Pitt’s strongest event, the floor exercise, was a success in allowing four gymnasts – Arlotta, McGuigan-Carl, Garber and Marszalek – to move on. Both Arlotta and McGuigan-Carl also advanced on the vault. At the end of the two-day meet, the top six gymnasts were recognized, which included Pitt’s Arlotta, Croop and McGuigan-Carl.

Then, the hardships started for the Panthers, first with tough competition then injuries. In the next five matches, Pitt only experienced one win.

“We were accomplishing everything until around the time of spring break. That is where we ran into some problems and injuries,” Yohman said .

In the third tri-meet of the season, Pitt fell to tough competitors North Carolina and West Virginia. Pitt hit every routine on the uneven bars for first place. Unfortunately, this event alone could not salvage the meet for the Panthers, who lost 194.375-193.500.

Next, West Virginia defeated Pitt again, this time on Panther territory for Pitt’s first home loss of the season. Pitt did overcome James Madison in this tri-meet, which would be its last win of the season. Arlotta scored first on the vault while DeBone pulled out the third-place spot on both the uneven bars and the beam. Drane and Marszalek tied for fourth on the floor exercise.

Pitt faced the Mountaineers yet again in another tri-meet but with similar troubles, falling to third behind the Mountaineers and UC Berkeley. Pearson brought home Pitt’s only event title when she tied for first on the vault. Tying her season high, Arlotta placed second on the uneven bars. Drane competed in the all-around and came in third place. Cassie Minick tied for fourth on the balance beam, turning in her best performance of the season.

This is where the team started to run into some injuries. Arlotta had trouble with her foot all year and the problem progressed until she could not compete in certain events. Drane suffered a foot injury in the previous meet. Marszalek’s back problems were interfering with her floor performances. What was worse, all of these problems seemed to hit the team all at once.

In their last home meet of the season, the Panthers lost to Penn State, making Pitt’s final record of the regular season 11-10 overall, 3-6 East Atlantic Gymnastics League. Because of the injuries, which seemed to be piling up from the last few meets, Pitt had to compete with a new lineup. McGuigan-Carl led the team on vault by tying for second place. Garber tied for third on the floor exercise. Andrea Konesky competed in her first collegiate meet, turning in an eighth-place performance on the balance beam.

That resulted in Pitt ending the regular season with a major loss in the EAGL Conference Championships. The Panthers finished last out of the eight teams in the conference, but many gymnasts were still recognized, including Arlotta with five honors and a spot on the All-EAGL First Team.

With all of the problems the Panthers have had, though, the young team still has one last chance to turn it around this weekend at the NCAA Regional Championships, something Yohman will be looking for out of her adjusting squad.

“We still have one chance to hit as a team at regionals,” Yohman said. “We can still finish out strong.”