SPORTS WOMAN OF THE WINTER

The 2003 gymnastics season had already been a good one for Alyse Zeffiro, but on Monday, it… The 2003 gymnastics season had already been a good one for Alyse Zeffiro, but on Monday, it got a little bit better.

Having completed her best year to date at Pitt, Zeffiro found that her hard work had really paid off. For that reason, she was selected as the Female Athlete of the Winter by The Pitt News sports staff.

“It’s very exciting,” she said. “I went in and worked my hardest and never settled for anything less than perfect.”

In a season that saw her set career highs and school records, Zeffiro was just as proud of her team as she was of her personal achievements.

‘We did really well,” she said. “We all became really close because of it and kept each other going and motivated.”

Despite stumbling at the start of season, Zeffiro helped Pitt knock off Missouri for the team’s first win of the year Jan. 18 by scoring a 9.9 on the balance beam.

That score was her highest of the season and tied Diandra O’Conner for Pitt’s highest individual mark of the year. Zeffiro also led the Panthers in scoring on the beam for the season with an average of 9.815.

Two months later, Zeffiro left her mark on the Pitt record books.

Competing against Michigan State on March 15, Zeffiro received a 9.95 on the floor exercise, setting a school record.

“My high point of the season was breaking the floor [school] record,” Zeffiro said about her score, which helped her lead the team in scoring in that event with an average of 9.781.

“That was really exciting for me, along with making the All-[East Atlantic Gymnastics League] teams,” Zeffiro said.

A unanimous All-EAGL first team selection on the beam, Zeffiro was also selected to the first team for the floor exercise and the second team on the vault.

In the EAGL Championships, Zeffiro picked up a score of 9.825, finishing 18th and helping the Panthers to a seventh-place finish.

Zeffiro followed that with a strong showing at the NCAA Regional, tying for fifth on the beam with 9.875 and scoring a 9.9 on the floor, which tied her for eighth.

With those two scores, Zeffiro set two Pitt season scoring records, totaling 127.6 points on the beam and 117.25 total points on the floor.

“I fulfilled a lot of my goals that I had set for myself to achieve and I’m really happy with how I did,” she said. “[This season] was very rewarding and it was a great experience.”

Zeffiro, who will be returning for her senior year, encouraged Pitt students and fans to come out next season and watch the team.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” she said. “Gymnastics is very exciting to watch, especially since we have a lot of people doing well and breaking school records.”