THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 15, 1995 TAG: 9501130252
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
FOR SOME TEAMS, just winning is not good enough. So even though Great Bridge coasted to victory in the opening quad meet of the Southeastern District gymnastics season, coach Sharon Ivey wasn't exactly pleased with what she saw.
``We didn't perform well at all. I never get disappointed with the kids because their ability isn't as high as someone else's, but I do get upset when they don't perform up to what they're capable of,'' Ivey said. ``We weren't mentally prepared for this meet.''
Great Bridge finished with 125.95 points in the team competition to second-place Deep Creek's 114.10. Suzanne Humphrey claimed the all-around title with 32.60 points.
It was apparent that the Wildcats were distracted from the opening rotation when Nadia Amen, one of Great Bridge's best all-around gymnasts, fell from the balance beam twice and received a 7.45 from the judges. Humphrey picked up the slack, turning in a solid performance that earned an 8.75, the highest score of the competition.
``I almost fell on the back handspring,'' said Humphrey, who started to lose her balance twice during the routine before correcting. ``I think I would have had at least a nine without those two big bobbles.''
The meet was a coming-out party of sorts for Deep Creek freshman Laura Bryan. She opened with an 8.5 on the floor exercise and scored a 7.55 on the uneven parallel bars, her lowest mark of the competition.
Bryan scored another 8.5 on her vault, a difficult half on full off that she landed with just one step. After three rotations, Bryan led the all-around by five one-hundredths of a point over Humphrey, who scored a 7.6 on the bars.
``I wasn't ever a really good bars person,'' said Humphrey, who had six years of private training with Ocean Tumblers and now competes with two stress fractures in her back. ``And I do a really cheesy dismount that I don't like because of my back.''
Even though Humphrey was a shade behind going into the fourth rotation, she had the advantage of finishing the competition on vault. Bryan wrapped up with the beam.
Bryan mounted the beam easily and went into a planche, a high-superior trick. She nearly held it, but at the end arched too far and fell from the beam. Bryan fell once more and earned a 7.8, placing her second in the all-around.
Humphrey scored 8.1 on the vault, and Amen scored 8.4 to take third in the all-around competition. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by GARY C. KNAPP
Suzanne Humphrey won the all-around competition at the meet.
Nadia Amen received a 7.45 to take third in the all-around
competition.
Erica Chinn, a freshman at Western Branch High School, throws her
weight onto the springboard in front of the vaulting horse at the
opening quad meet of the Southeastern District gymnastics season.
by CNB