Change was an important word during the off-season for the Pitt gymnastics team. Along with a… Change was an important word during the off-season for the Pitt gymnastics team. Along with a new training facility, the Panthers also acquired six new freshmen to add to the eight returning team members from last season.

The Panthers left their old training facility, “The Cage,” and moved into a new, 12,000 square-foot facility in Trees Hall this past October. Completion of the center over the summer made the Panthers’ new home the second-largest training facility in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League and one of the largest in the Northeast Region.

“[The new training facility] has improved our program tenfold,” head coach Debbie Yohman said. “We have had fewer injuries, and our practices are much more efficient.”

As construction at Trees Hall finished over the summer, Pitt was busy heavily recruiting for the 2005 season. Joining the Panthers are four women from Pennsylvania, one from New Jersey and one from New Hampshire.

Brittany Baldwin, from Downingtown, Pa., Samantha DeBone from Greensburg, Pa., Amanda Rushton from Harleysville, Pa., Nicole Drane from Mt. Laurel, N.J., and Kaitlin Harrison from Manchester, N.H., will all specialize in the all-around event for the Panthers this season. Melissa Davidson from New Brighton, Pa., will help Pitt in the vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise.

“We’re expecting big things from these girls,” Yohman said about the incoming freshmen.

The Panthers also have eight girls returning from last year’s team, which finished 17-11-1 and captured a fourth-place finish in the 2004 East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships.

Among the returning letterwinners are this season’s co-captains, seniors Sarah Gibson and Leila Tait. Gibson and Tait are the only two seniors on the 2005 Panther team.

Tait tied for the top score on the uneven bars last season with a 9.90 and also recorded the team’s top score on the balance beam with a 9.90. Along with the uneven bars and the balance beam events, Tait will be competing on the vault.

“(Tait) hasn’t vaulted since she was in high school, but she’s a beautiful performer and will do very well,” Yohman said.

Sophomore Andrea Arlotta is another top returning letterwinner for Pitt. Last season, Arlotta was fourth on the team in both vault average (9.704) and uneven bars average (9.658).

Also coming back for the Panthers is Yohman, who will start her 19th season coaching Pitt with a 165-251-1 record. Accompanying her will be assistant coaches Jared Cassidy and Bethany Wagner, both of whom will be starting their third season with the Panthers.

Despite the youth of this year’s Panther team, Yohman has set some high goals for her girls.

“We’d like to finish higher in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships and qualify for the Regional Competition as a team,” Yohman said. “We may be inexperienced, but we have a lot of talent.”

Pitt will start its season Saturday at Penn State University. Last season, the Panthers beat the Nittany Lions for the first time. Pitt will then return home to the Fitzgerald Field House to face East Atlantic Region League opponent West Virginia on Jan. 22.