University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
EAGL Championships
Pitt Gymnastics Finishes Fifth At EAGL Championships
3/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 27, 2010
DURHAM, N.H. -
The Pitt gymnastics team took fifth at the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships with a 194.400 team score for the day. North Carolina won the team event with a 196.025.
“I am so proud of our girls,” head coach Debbie Yohman said. “Fifth may not sound like much, but we fought and fought today and with having to shift around our lineup and have some girls fill in, they really did a tremendous job. This conference has never been tighter. Less than two points separated first from sixth so this was really a battle for everyone today.
“I don’t think I have ever left this meet feeling good, but today I am very proud and that is kudos to the team,” Yohman continued. “From here, we go forward. We improve and continue to move ahead.”
Pitt sat out the first rotation of the day with a bye. The Panthers started their day on their strongest event, the vault. After the first event, Pitt led with a team score of 49.100. Senior Dani Bryan and Alicia Talucci led the team with each scoring a 9.85. EAGL Co-Rookie of the Year Meaghan Biros (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) scored a 9.825, while Shannon Vafiadou (Mahwah, N.J./)Mahwah) recorded a 9.80. Junior Jen Liberato rounded out the scorers for Pitt with a 9.775, which ties her career high mark.
Pitt’s 48.550 on the uneven bars put them into fourth place after the first four rotations. Bryan (Germantown, Md./Northwest) scored a team-best 9.775 and senior Jessica Byich (Nicktown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) scored a career-high 9.725 on bars.
Other scores for the Panthers on the bars included a 9.750 from Talucci (Coatesville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan), a 9.700 from Liberato (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) and a 9.600 from Sarah Thompson (Shokan, N.Y./Onteora).
On the balance beam, Pitt recorded a team score of 48.200 including a team-best score of 9.825 from Talucci, which was good enough for a tie for third. Molly Moyer (Telford, Pa./Buxmont Christian) scored a 9.70, followed by Vafiadou with a 9.625 and Thompson and Lisa Taylor (Odessa, Fla./Tampa) each scoring a 9.50. The Panthers sat in fifth after their third event with 145.850 points.
The Panthers finished the day on the floor. Bryan was the very last competitor of the day and came through with a team-high 9.75. Talucci and Vafiadou each scored a 9.725 and Liberato contributed a 9.60. Moyer and Biros tied with a 9.575 to give the Panthers a 48.375.
In the all-around, Talucci finished in a tie for fifth with a score of 39.200, which gives her five meets this season scoring over a 39.000.
With Bryan’s 29.375 points on three events she now has 1,026.575 points for her career while Vafiadou’s 26.15 on three events gives the junior 1,010.00 points as they both surpassed the 1,000-point mark at the meet.
The Panthers will now await their fate for the NCAA Regionals, which will be held April 10. Participants in the NCAA Regional will be announced Monday.
