The Maine East girls gymnastics team is almost completely new this season.
Seven of its eight athletes are first-year varsity gymnasts, yet there hasn’t been a significant drop off from last season’s team. The Blue Demons’ average team score is about three points less than it was in the 2014-15 campaign, according to Maine East coach Neil Adamson.
“This group has improved even more [within the season] than last year’s,” Adamson said. “I was not expecting much from them this year. [It was] definitely a rebuilding year. They have surpassed all expectations. … They’ve been working really, really hard.”
The Blue Demons finished 12th (78.40) at the 12-team Niles North Invite on Saturday, Jan. 16. Schools had three gymnasts compete on each event instead of five, and all three individual scores were counted toward the team score, not the top four.
Adamson added that Maine East’s gymnasts have gained a lot of skills during the season. An example of the progress is Giselle Mendoza’s development on vault.
Mendoza has been working on a handspring full this year, but Adamson said that she was twisting too early on it. Mendoza seemed to have an epiphany last week, however, where she broke the habit of twisting too early. Mendoza executed her vault at the Niles North Invite and finished with an 8.85, which was sixth out of 36 vaulters.
More Top Picks Green Tea Benefits For The Heart
“She finally … was able to make that big, big change,” Adamson said. “It was awesome to see.”
Mendoza’s sixth-place finish on vault was the highest any Blue Demons gymnast finished in any of the four events. Maine East’s other top finishers included junior Kathleen Cross on floor exercise (28th, 7.10), Mendoza on uneven bars (tied for 24th, 6.15) and junior Tiffany Russotto on balance beam (26th, 6.40).
Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @VanDrilSports