Panther Pause: Lindsay Offutt
11/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
PITTSBURGH -
Hey Panther fans!
We are quickly approaching the close of our pre-season and beginning to make the transition into competition season. In just four short weeks we will compete at home against Kent State in our Blue-Gold exhibition meet. In preparation for the season we hold multiple intrasquads in the practice gym. This helps ensure us that we are competing at our highest level at the start of the season in January.
Our two big intrasquads during pre-season are the Ghosts and Goblins on Halloween and the Gobble Wobble before Thanksgiving. We had a successful and competitive Ghosts and Goblins intrasquad this year. The goal that competition is to have competitive line ups for each team so that the winner isn't decided until the very last routine. That is exactly what happened this year! This year's Gobble Wobble ended in a tie between the two teams! This result only proves how competitive our line-ups will be this year.
In both competitions, we started off strong on floor and carried the momentum all the way through the end on beam. Each girl improved immensely since our last intrasquad in early October. Not only were the routines much stronger, but we also had many routines competed on competition surfaces for each event. Plus each competitor gave a highlight performance.
Freshmen Dani Hall and Maegan Higdon didn't let the early pressure get to them. After a rocky bar warm up Dani hit one of her best routines to date! Maegan performed a huge vault as well as an upgraded beam and floor routine! Sophomore Erika Reichert proved that hard work does pay off when she went three for three on vault, beam, and floor! Juniors Nicole Pearson and Miya Dotson were two of only three to compete in the all-around! To no surprise senior Laura Kummerle gave a flawless performance on beam!
Although we were missing a few competitors due to injury, we also gained a few who are returning from injury. Still working her way back to full routines, sophomore Kelly Burak gave her best performance yet of her new choreography on floor! Junior Tiara Chadran hit her first full bar routine in competition since returning! And determined not to let a surgery keep her from competing this season, junior Lisa Soto gave exceptional performances on beam and floor!
Each gymnast is working hard to earn a competitive spot this year. We expect a few more gymnasts to fully return by the start of the season, in which case we will have great depth as well as excellence among our line-ups. Stay tuned for further updates about your Panthers as we finish off the pre-season. With the amount of determination and talent on this team, there is no telling how far we can go!
Hail to Pitt!
-Lindsay Offutt
Players Mentioned
