Focus falls on freshmen

With nearly two weeks between their competitions, the Bruins
seek to make the most of their days off, using the time to recover
from injuries and clean up their routines. “We’ve
posted better scores, but we haven’t peaked. We need to make
this level consistent and clean up,” coach Valorie Kondos
Field said. Coming off of their season’s best performances,
the Bruins need to find consistency and raise their level of
confidence for the upcoming weeks. The team will face the reigning
national champion Georgia next month and this is the last such
break for the team. Injuries to the team’s key veterans have
put the freshmen in the spotlight early on in the season and until
the team gets healthy, the youth of the team will have to carry the
veterans’ weight. Entering this weekend, the freshmen have
accounted for nearly three-fourths of the team’s total
routines. Against Oregon State, Melissa Chan and Kristina Comforte
finished first and second. Two nights before that, Ariana Berlin
finished second in her first all-around performance. “In
looking for the silver lining of not having Jordan and Tasha
(Schwikert) back yet, our freshmen are getting loads of competitive
experience that they wouldn’t have had if Jordan and Tasha
were competing right now,” Kondos Field said. With the
Schwikert sisters training hard, the Bruins hope to have their full
lineup back soon. But with or without them, the team has no doubts
that it can compete at a high level.

GETTING GOOD MARKS: The women’s
gymnastics team success has not been limited to the gym. In the
fall quarter, the team boasted the highest average GPA of all
athletic teams. Freshman Janelle Dantzscher led all gymnasts with a
4.0 GPA. Jalynne Dantzscher, Ashley Peckett, Michelle Selesky and
Courtney Walker each recorded GPAs of 3.5 or higher. Kristina
Comforte, Kate Richardson, Tasha Schwikert, Jordan Schwikert and
Lindsey Vanden Eykel also made the Director’s Honor Roll.

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