Gymnastics Season Outlook
1/20/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Gymnastics Season Outlook
1/20/1999
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh gymnastics team is vaulting into the 1999 season with determination, drive and heart a combination of qualities that is neccessary in having a goal-acheiving season.
The Panthers enter the 1999 campaign after somewhat disappointing sixth-place finishes at both the 1998 East Atlantic Gymnastics League and the NCAA Regional championships. The finishes were due, in part, to minor, yet nagging injuries that hampered the team all year.
"It was a pretty scary time for us," said Head Coach Debbie Yohman. "We never had our strongest lineup on the floor, though the lineups did get stronger as the year progressed. It just seemed like every time we would get someone back in, we lost somebody else."
But as the season approaches, Yohman believes that her team is prepared to compete at a higher level than she has seen in a number of years.
"Right now I am looking at a team that has the same goals, the same motivation and the same drive as last year's team," said Yohman. "But I know that this year's team is in much better shape, much better condition, and is stronger and healthier than probably any team I have ever had."
Yohman credits the strong training program and positive physical turnaround to Pittsburgh's new strength and conditioning coach, Kim King.
"Kim has done a wonderful job with the girls in the weight room," said Yohman. "Each of them is getting a superb amount of individual attention. She is on them all the time about doing it the way it's supposed to be done, and they're making all the necessary corrections."
These improvements, combined with an outstanding work ethic, should pay dividends during the 1999 season.
Leading Pittsburgh in the all-around will be senior co-captain Janet Highhill and junior Danielle Alba. According to Yohman, Highhill is in great shape and is capable of scoring well on all four events. She has a high degree of difficulty in her routines and displays strong leadership skills in the gym.
The school's record holder on beam and the all-around, Alba returns this year stronger than ever. Yohman believes that with her training regimen, she will be a strong contender at regionals.
Keying Pittsburgh's efforts on the vault will be senior Erika Flamer and junior Lisa Fronhofer. Flamer has been one of the most dependable vaulters for Pittsburgh during her career. This year, she will look to possibly become the ninth gymnast in school history to record 1,000 career points.
Fronhofer, a walk-on as a freshman who has become one of the strongest student-athletes on the team, is a co-recordholder on vault. After being hampered by stress fractures last season, she is back in the rotation and looking great.
The uneven bars will be headed by junior Samantha Salyers. Salyers, possibly one of the most talented swingers to ever come through Pittsburgh, holds the school record on bars with a 9.925 and has recorded five additional times on the All-Time Top 10 scores list.
Adding depth to the uneven bars will be Highhill and sophomore Erin Freyvogel. Freyvogel performed mostly in the exhibition spot last year and looks to take her skills and difficulty a step further.
Alba and junior Pam Leiberman will be top competitors for the Panthers on balance beam. Leiberman will focus primarily on this event after off-season shoulder surgery took her out of the uneven bars lineup. A talented dancer and choreographer, Leiberman recorded Pittsburgh's All- Time fifth-best score of 9.825 on balance beam last season.
The floor exercise will see the healthy return of Fronhofer, along with Highhill and Salyers. All three are tied for second on the the All-Time Top 10 list with a score of 9.85.
Another strong contributor to the floor exercise will be junior co-captain Vanessa Rutherford. Rutherford, also an all-around competitor, is a consistent scorer on all four events.
Yohman is also looking forward to two incoming freshmen in Raya Mullin and Rebecca Singleton. Both will compete in the all-around and will help replace the scores that were lost by four graduated seniors. Mullin hails from Runnemede, N.J. and has a strong work ethic on every event. Singleton, a native of nearby Boardman, Ohio, is a strong performer on the uneven bars and an elegant dancer on beam.
Pittsburgh will face a highly challenging schedule in 1999, including the likes of West Virginia and Ohio State as well as west region opponents in Arizona State and Denver.
"It has become extremely important to compete outside of our region," said Yohman. "We no longer have to solely compete against the teams in our region for a chance to go to regionals, because we also want to compete with teams all over the nation to get into the top 12."
The 1999 Panthers are well-armed not only with talent, but also an excellent spirit that, according to Yohman, should make this season highly enjoyable.
"This is an amazing group of kids," said Yohman. "They're fun to work and compete with. This season will be a big challenge, but we're looking forward to it."