Best Finish In ETHS History Shows Eovaldi's Elite

Ella Eovaldi didn’t know she belonged with the elite gymnasts in the state of Illinois when she first qualified for the Illinois High School Association state finals as a freshman.

Now, she knows.

The Evanston junior accomplished the best all-around State finish in program history Friday at Palatine High School, placing 14th with a 36.30 all-around score in the season-ending competition. She also just missed --- by five-hundredths of a point --- advancing to the individual finals on balance beam.

What a difference a couple of years makes. As a freshman, Eovaldi was in the same state finals gym as older girls she had looked up to during her age-group competitions. She didn’t reach State as a sophomore, but Friday she was up against her peers and the comfort level was a lot higher, according to the ETHS standout.

“A lot of my friends from other teams were there, and I had a lot of fun cheering them on. They were cheering for me and everyone was so supportive,” Eovaldi recalled. “A lot of the conference (Central Suburban League) coaches said a lot of positive things to me afterward, and it was nice to hear that.

“The best all-around performance ever (at State for Evanston)? Wow, that’s pretty cool. But I still feel like I’m always wanting to do better.”

Eovaldi’s four-event effort was just shy of her best all-around score of the year, a 36.80, and included an 8.775 on vault, a 9.275 on uneven bars, a 9.10 on balance beam and a 9.15 on floor exercise.

That was more than good enough for ETHS head coach Mike Spevack, who called Eovaldi one of the best he’s ever worked with.

“I thought Ella did an incredible job,” Spevack praised. “She’s such a competitor, and my God, she really showed up at State! She knows now that she’s good enough to compete with those other girls. She proved it.

“She came into this year with such a fury and she left with a medal from every single invitational we were in. She found that extra gear, and she turned it on. She’s such a competitor that I never worry about her, even when she has a bad warmup. I know that after the (opening) salute (to acknowledge the judges), she’ll hit whatever it is she’s trying to do.”

Eovaldi’s rise to the elite ranks featured significant improvement in each event. That’s not as easy as it sounds, because most teenagers competing in high school athletics prefer to keep honing skills they’re already good at --- instead of working on their weaknesses.

Just ask Spevack, a former standout gymnast himself.

“She did improve a lot on bars --- she added a bail to a handstand --- but the thing that strikes you about Ella is her consistency,” said Spevack. “You’ll see very little variance in her all-around scores across the board this year. It’s hard to do all-around, because practicing all four events every day is tough on your body, and the skills are hard for someone of her caliber. But if it were up to Ella, our practices would be four hours long instead of two. She’s very, very determined in practice and sometimes I just have to tell her I love your tenacity --- now go home.”

Eovaldi learned long ago that practice can make perfect.

“Gymnastics is a physical sport, but if you don’t believe in yourself, you’re not going to get the job done,” she pointed out. “I knew the more consistent I could be in practice with my routines, the more confident I’d be and not feel the nerves as much (during competitions). I’m constantly working on having the right mindset and that takes practice.

“I had a couple of bad practices last week and I was really stressed out. Coach just told me to have fun and enjoy the State experience. So I started concentrating more on positive stuff and focused on one skill at a time. I gave it my all, and it was a fun experience.”

Eovaldi had an unfortunate draw for the second week in a row in the actual competition as the first girl up in the entire field on vault, right after pre-meet opening ceremonies. And the near-miss on balance beam was also tough to take.

“That definitely wasn’t one of my best performances on beam,” admitted the ETHS junior. “I knew I messed it up and that’s just going to give me the motivation for next year. I almost fell off on my flip-flop series --- I wobbled a lot --- and I know that cost me some tenths. But bars and floor went well for me, and overall, I was pretty happy with my performance.”

“A 9.1 on beam is an incredible score,” Spevack noted. “To say Ella could have done even better speaks volumes and tells you just how freaking good she is. To be 14th in the State against the volume of elite athletes like that, you have to be pretty incredible.

“And the great news is that she still has another year to go.”