Athlete of the Year Alyse Zeffiro

No matter what sport a collegiate athlete plays, when she achieves something that has never… No matter what sport a collegiate athlete plays, when she achieves something that has never been done in school history, it is a high achievement. Alyse Zeffiro did it twice in one night.

Zeffiro, a senior gymnast from Holbrook, N.Y., became the first to score a perfect 10 in Pitt history when she received the score on the vault on March 9, in a home tri-meet. Later that night, she scored a second 10 on floor exercise.

“[My] two 10s,” Zeffiro answered immediately when asked what her biggest achievement of the season was. “It was an amazing feeling; my teammates mobbed me, and the whole crowd was standing and cheering.”

Those two 10s merely capped Zeffiro’s record-breaking season — one of the best in Pitt gymnastics history — and earned her title of The Pitt News Female Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row.

The list of her achievements is a lengthy one, in stark contrast to her slight build. But to simply see the confidence and energy she has — performing on floor and attacking the vault — it is clear that the smallest member of the team is capable of the biggest of feats.

With a season total of 128.4 points on the floor exercise, Zeffiro set a school record for single-season points in the event. Her two 10s last month also give her the school-record score in those two events. She is one of 15 Pitt gymnasts to score more than 1,000 career points, and she ends with seven of the top 11 floor scores in Panthers’ history.

Zeffiro became the third Panther to win an East Atlantic Gymnastics League event title, placing first on vault. She was named to the All-EAGL First Team on the vault and floor, as well as bringing home a more prestigious prize — EAGL Senior of the Year.

Other achievements in Zeffiro’s loaded season include leading the team to a record 17 wins, finishing with 17 career scores of 9.9 or higher, and qualifying for the NCAA Northeast Regional on both vault and floor. She also competed regularly on balance beam, leading to her selection to the All-EAGL Second Team on beam.

“This whole year in general, I’ve had unforgettable teammates, and what we accomplished this year as a team, I’ll always remember,” Zeffiro named as the memories that will stick with her most as she ends her senior year.

When asked if she had any regrets on her season, she simply replied, “Not at all; I’m walking away my senior year, and I’ve been very lucky with all the things that have happened.”

However, Zeffiro won’t be walking away from Pitt right after the spring, as she plans to continue on to graduate school to study elementary education. When she finally does leave the Oakland campus, she will leave behind a legacy of achievements that will leave her name forever etched in the Pitt gymnastics record book.