Editor’s Note and trigger Warning: The Head Coach of SCSU at the time, Gerald Nelson, has been alleged to have been discriminatory towards gymnasts within his program. The Head Coach of Bridgeport at the time, Byron Knox, has been alleged to have been abusive towards gymnasts within his program.
by D.F. Pendrys
(Scores from eyewitness accounts and Troester.)( I will try to add to this as time allows.)
One week ago, Yale, Bridgeport, and Southern Connecticut stood inside an arena in Springfield along with some of D3’s traditional best teams. The outcome had been a Southern Connecticut victory over their fellow Connecticut teams. Though, it is not wins and losses, but total score that measures performance in collegiate gymnastics, nonetheless, it a means of comparison. A week later, the unpredictability of gymnastics was showcased as the same three exciting and talented teams swapped their standings, and Yale came out with the victory with a 187.7, Bridgeport came in second with a 185.765, and SCSU dropped to third with 183.125.
For Yale, they pulled their score up by 2.5 points from last week. Bridgeport, picked up 4 points, and SCSU dropped by over 2.5. Such fluctuations are not uncommon, and all three teams had their highs and lows while putting up solid scores. What is certainly true is that Bridgeport and Southern have the capacity to match each other scoring wise, and this will make for a very interesting D2 season leading all the way to ECACs. SCSU also improved upon their score of a day ago. It also shows Yale’s ability to build on the scoring foundation set the week before as they often do.
The setting was the John Lee Amphitheater at Yale, which had been filled with a fairly large crowd, consisting of a concentrated group of Yale student fans, the usual contingents of Bulldog parents, and a healthy contingent of Southern Connecticut and Bridgeport fans. What ensued what I had found to be a rare instance of fan athlete banter during points of the meet as the energetic student fans keep up their supportive chants, and received some replies as the Yale gymnasts were often tossing t-shirts into the crowd as a result of a whole ton of 9.5s. Bridgeport and SoCo’s fans came prepared and though outnumbered, made their voices heard. The teams were also especially loud at this meet in support of their teammates. I think this is an important point, each team showcased the fluctuating nature of gymnastics over the past two weeks. Yale had a tough Bars rotation last week, but bounced back and added to it in other events. SoCo remained steady in three events but had at tough floor rotation. Bridgeport had struggled on Beam last week, but pulled together a much higher score this week. With the individual routines as well, while some gymnasts hit, some did not, but even those who fell, or had a misstep often hit some other major element, which suggests there is so much potential in these teams.
Rotation 1
Yale began on Vault and got off to a steady start with a 46.125, lead by Lauren Tatsuno’s 9.45. It wasn’t much of a drop from last week’s vault and most of the teams scores were a couple of points up or down, though Kristen Campbell pulled up her score significantly much to the delight no doubt of the fairly large fan contingent of hers.
SCSU opened on Beam and improved their team score from a week before with a 45.95. Briana DiPinto led the way with a 9.5, and Justine Basley was right behind her with a 9.45 and Dana Goodknight and Erika Pysh both put up solid scores too.
Bridgeport opened on the Bars, and put up a score up about a point from last week with a 45.9. Brandi Embrey led the team with a 9.375, and Lorraine Galow picked up a 9.3. Stephanie Morgan had a 9.225, and Leila Behbahani bounced back after a rough routine last week with a 9.1. Hannah Forti also picked up a big score bump.
Rotation 2
Yale picked up a 46.425, which was over 2 points higher than last week. Almost every gymnast improved their scores from the week before. Sherry Yang, Brigitte Kivisto, and Alina Liao all picked up much higher scores this week with a 9.45, 9.425, and 9.55 to lead the team. Liao’s score lead her to throw the first of many 9.5 club t-shirts into the crowd, though not in the direction one of the cheering sections would have liked, though all in good fun. Yang’s score was good enough for third place in the meet.
Southern was on Floor, and had their struggles and a 45.25 was the result, but DiPinto lead the team with a 9.45, and Bethany Jeffords notched a 9.3. As Bars had been responsible for Yale’s lower scores the week before, the Floor rotation would be the root cause of Southern’s scoring drop, which is a normal part of gymnastics.
Bridgeport turned to Beam yet, and put up a 46.9 score, a two point improvement from a week ago. Galow had a 9.7 to lead the team, and finish third in the meet, Yvette Mirando’s 9.55, and Ravin Iasiello’s 9.475 were key components joined with a Breanna Collins’ 9.275. The team for the most part improved big time in the score department this meet.
Rotation 3
On Beam Yale put their top score of the meet with a 48.25. Allison Mak picked up a 9.775, leading the team for the second straight week. Liao had a 9.725, Kivisto a 9.65, Campbell a 9.575, and Lombardi a 9.525 to make that happen. It’s a very strong performance on an event that is often a struggle for many collegiate teams. It has been one of Yale’s strengths this season so far. This also led to 5 shirts being thrown into a very appreciative crowd.
SCSU turned to Vault, and improved on their score from a week ago with a 46.125. Justine Basley lead the way with a 9.425 along with Pysh, Fern, Hollensworth, and Jeffords adding into the scoring equation.
Bridgeport took to the floor, and improved upon last week’s score as well with a 46.375. Yvette Mirando had a 9.625 to lead the team and place third in the meet. Galow continued her success with a 9.5, and Breanna Collins had a 9.4. Stephanie Morgan and Jamie DePaola had some score drops that were nonetheless solid contributions to the team score.
Rotation 4
Yale had some struggles on this event as compared to last week, but Alina Liao lead the way with a 9.75. Kivisto followed with a 9.675, and Tatsuno had a 9.525.
SCSU scored close to their week 1 score on Bars with a 45.8. Sarah Darst led the team and tied for first overall in the event with a 9.55, along with Jeffords, Pysh, Murray, and Basley’s solid contributions.
On Vault, Bridgeport was hitting routines left and right. I watch the floor routines and glance over at the other events when possible and every time I did a rousing cheer was going up from the Purple Knight as another gymnast hit. Mirando’s 9.425 was the top score with Galow at 9.375, DePaola at 9.3, and Forti, Niki Calderon, and Stephanie Morgan also putting up solid scores. This lead to a 46.5, a nearly point improvement over last week.
Yale’s Liao and Kivisto both topped 38 in the all around with Liao picking up a 38.225, and Kivisto a 38. SCSU’s Pysh put up a 36.25 in the All Around, and Jeffords a 36.15. For UB, Galow put up a 37.325 in the All Around, and Morgan a 36.725.
