Pitt gymnastics ends season

The collegiate careers of Pitt gymnasts Diandra O?Connor and Alyse Zeffiro came to end on… The collegiate careers of Pitt gymnasts Diandra O?Connor and Alyse Zeffiro came to end on Saturday, but not the way they wanted them to.

The pair finished out the season at the NCAA Northeast Regionals, with O?Connor finishing 13th in the all-around with a total score of 38.625 and Zeffiro ending up 15th on the vault and 31st on the floor exercise.

?I?m a little disappointed in myself,? Zeffiro said. ?It wasn?t my best performance. My vault was great, but I didn?t do my best on the floor exercise.?

Zeffiro received a 9.85 on the vault, giving her a total of 127.25 points in that event on the year, breaking her own record of 126.4, which she set in 2002. With a 9.725 on the floor, Zeffiro became the 15th gymnast in Pitt history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

?I was a little anxious, and I ended with my chest down,? she said about her performance on the floor. ?I was a little nervous. It was hard without my team there ? I?m glad that I ended on a good note.?

O?Connor finishes her career with 1,375.9 points, fourth most in school history. O?Connor tied for 35th on the vault with a 9.7, 27th on the uneven bars (9.525), 32nd on the balance beam (9.675) and tied for 31st on the floor (9.725).

Overall, the experience was a great one, according to Zeffiro.

?We got to compete in the same rotation with [No. 4-ranked] Georgia,? she said. ?We got to watch their team, which was a really great experience. It was a lot of fun, although not having the team there was discouraging.?

The Panthers set a school record with 17 victories on the season and set a number of other school records. As a team, the Panthers broke scoring records in the vault, the floor exercise and in total points, along with tying the school record on the balance beam.

Zeffiro also set new school records on both the vault and the floor, becoming the first Panther to receive a 10. She also finishes her career with six of the top 16 all-time scores on the vault and seven of the top 11 scores on the floor.

?It has been an outstanding experience, especially this year,? Zeffiro said about her time at Pitt. ?It?s something that I will always remember.?