THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, March 10, 1995                 TAG: 9503090188
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON    PAGE: 21   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: Lee Tolliver 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   61 lines

SOMEONE HAD TO SELECT THE YEAR'S BEST

For the second-straight year, Beach District gymnastics coaches met to discuss and select an all-district team representing the best in their sport.

While gymnastics is in some respects a team sport, it is equally an individual one and doesn't really lend itself to the usual all-district formats - kind of like wrestling or track. Your individual winners are your best performers.

But give the gymnastics folks credit. They are working to get their young athletes exposure that at one point or another could be helpful in the pursuit of athletic scholarships.

All but one selection were state qualifiers.

But the coaches shied away from two important selections - player and coach of the year. So I've volunteered to step in and make those choices for them.

But first, let's get to their all-district selections - nine of which are first team.

First-team seniors are Marissa Sutor of First Colonial, Laura Snelling of Kempsville and Erin Schweitzer of Cox. Kristen Grabb of Kempsville is the lone junior on the first team.

Sophomore first-teamers are Davinia Roberts of Salem, Michelle Alexander and Brooke Sawyer of Kellam, and Lana Pinera and Britt Moore of Cox.

No second team was chosen and the coaches moved right into honorable mention honors, selecting Trish Feltz of Cox, Kim Kuchem of Princess Anne, Kim Maugeri of First Colonial, Theresa Polizzi of Kellam, and Becky Huffman and Cheryl Risk of Tallwood.

Of all these gymnasts, Kellam's Brooke Sawyer is the only one to not qualify for state competition.

Even so, she is my choice for player of the year.

Here's why. After finishing fifth all-around at last year's state meet, Sawyer was one of the top candidates to win this year's championship. She went unbeaten in all-around competition this season until a compression fracture near one of her knees sidelined her for the rest of the year.

Also during the season, Sawyer set a Beach District all-around record of 38.2 points. That tied the state record set in last year's state meet.

Had she not been injured, it's arguably safe to say that Sawyer would have won at least the district and region titles and been a strong favorite at state.

There were a few others in contention for the honor - foremost Sawyer's teammate Alexander, who stepped up her role with Sawyer's injury and captured the district and region titles before finishing second at state.

Picking Sawyer over Alexander was an incredibly tough decision and maybe it would have been appropriate to pick both in a tie.

But in sports, that's a cop out and it's best to only pick one.

Salem's Roberts tied for first in two individual events at state and deserved consideration. Feltz, who has made a remarkable comeback from cancer was another.

As for coach of the year, Melody Hartranft was the easy choice.

Hartranft's Falcons took second in the team portion of the state meet and did so with one of the most consistent teams the district has ever seen. by CNB