| Gymnastics finesses its way to ship (5/09) | | Print | |
| Written by Destiny Vaughn | |
| Tuesday, 26 May 2009 | |
On May 13, the varsity team won fifth place in the North SCVAL Varsity League Finals, hosted by Tracy High School at Gymtowne Gymnastics in Moss Beach. Their final score was 132.4, which allowed them to compete in yesterday’s Central Coast Section Championships at Twister’s Gym in Mountain View. Having a larger varsity team enabled them to gain enough points for qualification, according to junior varsity gymnast Meagan Le. “Varsity team size doubled from last year,” Le said. “With more people on our team, it was possible to gain the 128 points needed to compete in the championships.” The varsity team faced issues in scheduling enough practices during the season. “It was difficult because we found it hard to practice as a team,” junior varsity gymnast Stephanie Ong said. “But in the end, it was fun because our goal was to come together and compete in the CCS, which we made happen.” During the finals, the team stepped up to the beam and did not let the pressure of competition get to them. “Finals went especially well because we usually lose points on events like the balance beam,” Le said. “Also, mostly everyone completed their stunts during the meet which was amazing. There’s always room for improvement, but I’m happy with the results.” On May 8, the JV won the North SCVAL JV League Finals at Lowell against Mercy, Burlingame, Tracy, Gunn, West and Half Moon Bay with a total of 180.6 points. This season started out with a strong set of newcomers who helped the team gain their victory. “We have had talented people come onto the team this season, such as freshmen Alyssa Piauwasdy and Shannon Lehman,” junior JV gymnast Celia Liang said. “People like them encouraged everyone to improve and helped to raise our team’s score.” During the course of the season, the team also enhanced their skills through dedication. “Our scores improved since last season,” junior JV gymnast Min Shan Lin said. “Although we did not change how many practices we had, we all practiced harder.” On April 30, the Cardinals tumbled with the Cupertino Pioneers and the Half Moon Bay Cougars at Cupertino High School. JV won first place and varsity did not disappoint, placing second. On April 20, the varsity girls back-handed their way to victory and won first place against Gilroy at Lowell. However, despite varsity’s dominant performance against the Gilroy Mustangs, the JV team lost. “Gilroy had an amazing JV team,” Liang said. “Overall, I believe we can improve in some areas such as the balance beam to become stronger in the event. But all we can do is start trying harder next time.” Though next year the varsity team will lose key members including senior gymnasts Elyse Cheung-Sutton, Melissa Sylvester and Ivy Li, sophomore gymnasts Alexis Kinard and Brianna Lam and junior gymnast Meagan Le will help the team to succeed next season. Most Valuable Player The Lowell’s choice for MVP is Kinard. Her consistent performance inspires others on the team. She has dedicated a large part of her life to gymnastics and has tumbled across mats and balanced her way across the long balance beam for seven years both in and out of Lowell. She used to compete for San Francisco Gymnastics in the Presidio. “She brings to the team her talent and knowledge from practicing outside of school and applies it to her performances with the team,” Lin said. “She dedicates as much time and effort to the team as she can.” Kinard’s skill gained her sixth place in the individual scorers of the varsity final, an excellent competitive record for that large venue, and shows improvement over last year’s finals where she was seventh place. As a sophomore, she can continue to inspire the team to succeed for years. Share this article:           |
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