Lady Trojans start to find their stride

By Eliot Schickler

eschickler@bcnnew.com

The Weston gymnastics team is developing consistency.

Although Weston lost 129.8-118.65 at home to Darien Tuesday and dropped to 4-7, it felt good about its performance because it's the second-highest total of the season. Moreover, it's the team's highest without senior Mary Corcoran.

"We had a great meet yesterday," Lady Trojans coach Megan Cebulski wrote in an e-mail. "I think we have hit our peak for the season at just the right time. Each girl on the team did some of their best routines of the season last night. I think this meet was a reflection of all of the hard work and practice we put in this season. We took some time to increase our difficulty and clean up our routines. Our success is largely due to each athlete's motivation to improve. We are all excited to have achieved that team score."

Weston scored a 33.45 on floor exercise, a 30.2 on vault, a 28.55 on the uneven bars and a 26.65 on the balance beam. Sophomore Natalie Hassett continued her development into a top gymnast with an all-around score of 31.95. Hassett was especially strong on floor (8.8) and bars (8.4), did well on vault (7.9) in her second time competing on it this year, and scored a 6.85 on bars.

"This meet was so exciting for everyone on the team," Hassett wrote in an e-mail. "Midterms had just ended so everyone seemed more relaxed before and during the meet. This meet was a lot of fun because I felt comfortable with all of my skills which helped my personal overall score. The whole team has been working so hard thorough out the season, I am so proud of ourselves that we have grown into stronger and better gymnasts."

On floor, she was graceful in dancing to the music and performing her tumbling passes. Hassett's first pass consisted of a front flip step out, round-off, backhand spring, which set the tone. She then stuck her round-off back handsprings in her next two passes.

"Once I heard my music play I knew what I had to do to help my team," Hassett said. "Floor is the most exciting event because you are motivated by the cheers of the fans, your teammates and the sound of your music."

Senior captain Alexis Gandal (30.3) and sophomore Keturah Sarno (29.1) also competed all-around for the Lady Trojans. Gandal was exceptional on floor (8.25) and consistent on vault (7.7), bars (7.35) and beam (7.0). Sarno showed command on floor (8.4) and her next best was vault (7.4), followed by bars (7.0) and beam (6.3).

Weston saw how much senior captain Maddie Ratte has improved on floor (8.0), vault (7.2) and beam (6.5). Senior captain Lena Romaldini showed how much her hard work paid off on floor (6.0), vault (5.7) and bars (5.5). Freshman Casey Redcay continued to develop on vault (7.0), floor (6.5) and bars (5.8).

"My hope for them is that they develop consistency with their skills so that meets like Tuesday occur all the time," Cebulski said.