2010 Season Preview
Jan 07 | Women's Gymnastics
The ingredients for a strong season are all in place as the gymnastics program embarks on a new year. The healthy return of several top veterans who were sidelined with injuries last season, coupled with the addition of a highly-touted class of newcomers gives the coaching staff excitement heading into the season.
The senior trio of Laura Sevarino, Prishani Seebadri and Alyssa Lewandowski will serve vital roles and look to lead a young, but talented, program by example. A core group of 20 letterwinners return this season giving the Scarlet Knights depth in each event and pushing each gymnast during competition.
“As a coaching staff, we are excited to open the new season and challenge our team to reach new heights this year,” said head coach Chrystal Chollet-Norton. “We return a lot of gymnasts this year, including some veterans who were injured for most of last season. We are also anxious to see our talented newcomers compete at the collegiate level. We believe they can have success early on. If we stay healthy, we can have a very successful season.”
All-Around
Senior Laura Sevarino and sophomore Nicole Schwartz each return with experience under their belts. Sevarino was the Scarlet Knights’ top all-arounder before ending her season prematurely due to injury each of the last two seasons. Newcomers Nicole Romano, Jenna Zito, Emma-Rose Trentacosti and Jayne Jeffreys could also perform in the all-around, which gives the Scarlet Knights great depth.
“This season will see a strong class of all arounders for the team,” said Chollet-Norton. “Laura has had a great pre-season and is looking good for the season. Nicole Schwartz stepped up last season when Laura was injured. Several members of the incoming freshman class could also perform in the all-around. All these girls will help to make our line-up one of the strongest we have had in several seasons.”
Vault
The return of top vaulter Laura Sevarino, Alyssa Lewandowski and Kiah Banfield will make this unit very strong. Danae Johnson, Maddie Zwiebel and Nicole Schwartz add experience, while freshmen Jenna Zito, Nicole Romano, Emma-Rose Trentacosti and Jayne Jeffreys could also see time on the vault during the season. Returning letterwinners Kerry Silverman and Stacy Ruderman will also be another force in a strong line-up of vaulters.
“The vaulting team will have more depth and experience than in the past seasons,” said Chollet-Norton. “All three of our top vaulters have national level experience. The letterwinners will help lead the top freshman newcomers on vaulting to add the additional depth to this event. This the first season that our vaulting team will have the additional depth to take our program to the next level.”
Bars
Experienced competitors Laura Sevarino, Erica (Sunny) Gerlach, Nicole Schwartz, Kiah Banfield, Sara Woodward and Ellese Gold each return to the uneven bars line-up this winter. Senior Prishani Seebadri is also hopeful for a return in the uneven bars after knee surgery. Each will help guide a talented group of freshmen. Expect to see Jenna Zito, Nicole Romano, Jayne Jeffreys, and Emma Rose Trentacosti in the line-up this season.
“This year’s bars line up will be one of young talent and experience,” said Chollet-Norton. “The veterans will help guide the freshmen who will round out the uneven bars team. The group of newcomers will add depth to this year’s team to this event. We are also hoping to see the return of Prishani back in the line-up. She is recovering from a early season surgery and is doing well getting her skills back. Her addition to the line-up will be an added addition in the middle of season to take this event to a possible team score of 49.”
Beam
The balance beam could be one of the most successful events for the Scarlet Knights again this season. Top returning letterwinners Laura Sevarino and Leigh Heinbaugh, who were out for the season a year ago, will be a great addition to the beam unit this year. Nicole Schwartz, Danae Johnson, Maddie Zwiebel, Brooke Schwamburger and Stacy Ruderman are also expected to have a major impact on the balance beam this year. Freshmen Jenna Zito, Nicole Romano, Emma-Rose Trentacosti and Jayne Jeffreys could all contribute to the unit as well.
“We look forward to the return of Laura and Leigh,” said Chollet-Norton. “Both these team members were out with injuries last season and now are back healthy and have had a great pre-season. We also have a solid list of letterwinners returning on the balance beam. All these girls have USA Regional and National level competition which will add to the depth in this event. The team lost three great beam workers last year, but with our returning letterwinners and incoming freshman class, we will not lose a step on this event.”
Floor Exercise
Returning letterwinners Laura Sevarino, Alyssa Lewandowski and Danae Johnson will lead a very talented group in the floor exercise. While Sevarino was sidelined with an injury, both Lewandowski and Johnson were USA National qualifiers last season. Johnson finished in the top-10 at the event and earned All-American accolades. Also returning are Nicole Schwartz, Maddie Zwiebel, and Kiah Banfield who expect to each contribute to a strong floor exercise program. Freshmen Nicole Romano, Jenna Zito, Emma-Rose Trentascosti and Jayne Jeffery also expect to compete in the floor exercise during the season.
“Once again Laura will be one of our major leaders on floor exercise,” said Chollet-Norton. “We also expect to see great things from Alyssa and Danae on floor. The experience of all three of them in this event will help to lead our floor team. We have a strong group of returning letterwinners who will help to add to the depth in this event. We hope to see great performances from all of them. Once again, all these girls bring Regional and National level experience, which will help make the floor exercise one of our top scoring events.”
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