By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The gymnastics team competed in two meets this week, falling to top programs Case 136.1-102.6 on the road Saturday and Barnstable 135.8-100.5 at home Tuesday night.
While the Whalers struggled to keep pace with some of the larger and more competitive teams in the Cranberry League, Nantucket gymnasts have continued to show improvement over the course of their short season.
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
A scene from gymnastics versus Barnstable earlier this week. |
With four meets already in the books, Nantucket (0-4) is scheduled to have one more head-to-head competition Saturday at Carver against Carver and Plymouth. The Cranberry League Championship meet will be held the following weekend.
“I am hoping we will continue to build our strength and our confidence going into the league meet. I am really hoping the girls will have their best meet of the season a week from Saturday at the league meet. I am confident that they will do really well,” head coach Richelle D’Elia Beaudette said.
Against Barnstable Tuesday, the Whalers matched up with the strongest opponent on their schedule, and one of the toughest squads in the state. The Red Raiders are defending back-to-back state champions and put those skills on display for the Nantucket crowd.
Barnstable tallied 33.0 points on vault, 34.2 on bars, 33.6 on beam and 34.9 on floor. Nantucket scored within the same range it has all season, but was hampered by inconsistencies on the beam. The Whalers scored a 28.2 on vault, 19.1 on bars, 24.1 on beam and 28.3 on floor.
It was the final home meet for five Whalers seniors: captain Kiri Mullen, Melissa Holdgate, Chelsea Reynolds, Makiesha Burnett and Erin Capozza.
Mullen competed in three events for the Whalers, leading the team on the vault with 7.7 points and contributing on the beam (5.5) and bars (4.1).
Holdgate also had a strong meet with her highest-scoring bar routine of the season (5.8) and a solid showing on the floor (7.1). Reynolds led the way for the Whalers on the beam (6.9), while Burnett contributed on the beam and Capozza competed in the vault for the first time.
Also strong for Nantucket in the meet, Julianne Costello competed in three events, scoring a 7.5 on vault, 5.6 on bars and 7.0 on floor. Sophie Civitarese also performed in three events, turning in a 7.1 on vault, 5.3 on beam and a team-high 7.4 on floor.
The Whalers matched up against another strong opponent Saturday at Case. The Cardinals’ top gymnast Erin Machado set a school record in the meet with an all-around performance of 37.9, D’Elia Beaudette said. The level-10 USA gymnast scored a 9.6 on floor, 9.4 on beam, 9.5 on bars and 9.4 on vault.
The strong performance by Machado kept Case well out in front. The Whalers scored 29.7 to the Cardinals’ 34.0 on vault, 19.4 to 34.6 on bars, 24.9 to 33.0 on beam and 28.6 to 34.5 on floor.
Costello, Civitarese and Lucy McGowan each contributed high totals on three events for the Whalers. Costello excelled on the floor with a 7.2, on vault with 7.7 and on the bars with a 5.6. Civitarese performed a strong floor routine, earning a solid 7.1, while picking up a 7.0 on the vault and 6.3 on the beam. McGowan, in her first competition of the season, scored a 7.0 on floor, 7.2 on vault and 4.2 on bars.
“We are adding more depth in our lineup. More of the girls are competing which I am really pleased to see,” D’Elia Beaudette said.
Holdgate had a strong meet, earning a 7.3 on the floor and a 5.4 on the bars. Hayleigh Earl competed for the first time on the vault and notched a 7.3 to contribute to the Whalers’ total. Kimone Wiggins picked up a 7.5 on the vault and Kayla Hatch scored 7.1 on the beam.
“I was really pleased. They continued to show strength and confidence in their performances and they are improving,” D’Elia Beaudette said.
|
