Pitt dominates quad-meet, heads to Maryland next

The Pitt gymnastics team made a big statement to the rest of the East Atlantic Gymnastic… The Pitt gymnastics team made a big statement to the rest of the East Atlantic Gymnastic League in their quad meet on Saturday evening.

Their season-high team score of 192.925 was good enough to defeat Ohio State (192.850), Maryland (190.850) and SUNY-Brockport (178.325) and remain undefeated at the Fitzgerald Field House.

“It was a close one. And it’s nice to end up on that side of a close one,” Head Coach Debbie Yohman told www.pittsburghpanthers.com. “Winning a meet like this was important. It was a step we had to take and one we’ve been trying to take.”

Team captain Andrea Arlotta paced Pitt (6-2 overall, 2-1 EAGL) in their opening event, the vault, finishing third overall with a score of 9.700. Sophomore Amanda Rushton and freshman Victoria McGuigan-Carl both followed closely, tying for fourth with a 9.675. Maryland’s Rachel Martinez won the event with a score 9.800, with teammate Angela Ferg finishing in second at 9.725.

The Panthers had three gymnasts tie for fifth place in their second event, the uneven bars. Senior Lindsay Swan and sophomores Kaitlin Harrison and Samantha DeBone all scored a 9.650. Arlotta again led Pitt in the event with a score of 9.800 to place second. Ohio State’s Kaylin Schlecht finished in first place with a 9.900.

Following the first two rotations, Pitt trailed the Buckeyes, 95.675 to 96.175. That’s when DeBone provided a much needed spark.

Much to the delight of the Field House crowd, the sophomore turned in a career-best score of 9.900 on the balance beam to earn first place. Arlotta also scored a career-high 9.875 to finish second. Ohio State’s Maalika Moore-Thomas rounded out the top three with a 9.850. Pitt freshman Anya Chayka finished seventh in the event with a score of 9.700.

“I was really nervous going last,” said DeBone. “I felt like I had to step up. Without Andrea [Arlotta] setting me up, I don’t think I could have done it.”

With the team scores still very close going into the fourth rotation, the Panthers turned in several tremendous performances in the floor exercise. Arlotta and McGuigan-Carl tied with the Buckeyes’ Moore-Thomas for second with a score of 9.825. Senior Nicole Drane also had a strong showing, tying five others for sixth-place with a 9.650. Ohio State’s Brittany Brown scored a 9.900 to finish first.

Arlotta’s fantastic performance in each event gave her a season-high total score of 39.200, and was enough to edge out Moore-Thomas (38.925) and Maryland’s Rachel Colon (38.850) to win her fourth all-around title of the season.

On the day, Pitt won the vault with a 48.175, and turned in a season-best 48.350 to finish first in the bars as well. Although the Panthers only finished second in the beam, their score of 48.325 was also a season high.

“It felt really good to win, we’re really happy,” said DeBone. “It’s especially exciting for the sophomores and the younger gymnasts because we didn’t win too much last season.”

This weekend, the Panthers will visit College Park, Md., to compete against the Terrapins and Rutgers University. The meet will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday evening.