Floor exercise helps Pitt pull out three victories

After falling behind by three-tenths of a point with only one event to go, the Pitt… After falling behind by three-tenths of a point with only one event to go, the Pitt gymnastics team used a school-record-tying 49.4 on the floor exercise to propel them past Rutgers, Cornell and Brown on Saturday night at the Fitzgerald Field House.

By meet’s end, the Panthers (7-2-1 overall, 3-1-1 Eastern Atlantic Gymnastics League) had come away with a total of 194.75 points, which is the eighth-highest total in school history.

After posting a school-record 9.875 on the vault last week at New Hampshire, senior Allyse Zeffiro set another school record this week with a 9.95 on the floor exercise. Zeffiro now has now made nine scores of 9.9 or higher in her collegiate career.

Senior co-captain Erika Goldberg gave her team a lift by posting her first career 9.9 on the floor exercise.

Sophomore April Pearson also had a career-night on the floor exercise, posting a 9.875. Pearson also recorded a team-high 9.8 on the vault.

On the uneven bars, senior Diandra O’Connor tied a personal-best with a 9.85 to led the Panthers.

Led by fifth-year senior Lisa Yarosh and sophomore Roslyn Singleton, the Panthers were able to rebound from last week’s season-low point total on the balance beam and recorded a score of 48.125.

According to Zeffiro, emotions played a part in the Panthers’ success on Saturday.

“We had high spirits throughout the entire meet,” Zeffiro said. “It really just kept us going.”

Head coach Debbie Yohman remains confident that her team is one of the most talented the University has seen. She says that the high scores should not come as a surprise, and that with the talent these gymnasts have, this type of performance is to be expected.

“All of our scores should be top 10 scores,” Yohman said. “This is one of the best teams we’ve had here at Pittsburgh.”

Yohman said she wants to focus on eliminating some of the mistakes that have been occurring in the vault and bars competitions.

“We’ve just been working really hard,” Yohman said. “We’ve got to get rid of the falls on bars and we’ve got to work on staying on the balance beam.”

Zeffiro said that she feels the team mostly needs to work on staying sharp mentally, and that most mistakes are because of a lack of focus.

“Keeping our focus is what’s most important,” Zeffiro said. “I think we can get lost sometimes, but we just need to work on staying focused.”

This win, the seventh of the season, ties last year’s season total with 18 opponents still remaining on the regular season schedule. The Panthers next meet will take place at Kent State this Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 pm.