Girls Gymnastics Edged Out By Smithtown, 169.2 - 166.9

Smithtown Girls Varsity Gymnastics (9-2-0, 5-2-0 League I) just edged out Commack (8-3-0, 4-3-0 League I) in a close match-up Friday night. Smithtown had to pull out an impressive 169.2 overall score to get past the Cougars, who lost by just 2.25 points, with a score of 166.9. The victory for Smithtown just separates the two teams, who had identical records before this meeting.

The whole meet was very close, though Smithtown's early 1.5 point lead after the vault portion and 2.7 point lead after bars allowed Smithtown to relax. Although Commack took a point back on the balance beam, the Cougars were equally matched in floor exercises however, and Smithtown was able to pull in an extra half point at the end, as Smithtown's Alyssa O'Connor nearly matched an almost flawless performance by Commack's Alyssa Burns.

The whole competition was close though, and both teams even had players set season bests.

Heroes: Smithtown: Casey Solana led Smithtown in the balance beam portion, setting a personnal best with a score of 9.00, assuring that Smithtown wouldn't give Commack too much back. Alyssa O'Connor also hit a personal best, scoring 9.425 in her floor exercise. Taylor Von Nostrand also had a great day, scoring 34.725 points overall, a solid twenty percent on Smithtown's score (scores are determined in each event with the best 5 of 6 performances for each team).

Commack: Alyssa Burns' lowest score for the day was 9.30, a number only bested once at all in the match (and not even in the same event). Burn's 9.30 vault, 9.35 bars, 9.55 balance beam and 9.55 floor exercise were all season highs combing for a 37.75.  It may not have been enough for a win, but these incredible scores spoke to Burns' precision and grace, which wasn't really seen in the rest of the competition.

Turning Point: After bars Smithtown led by 2.7 points and looked to continue performing solidly on the balance beam and on the floor. However, Alyssa Burns' 9.55 score on balance beam (along with a solid performance from the rest of the Commack girls) couldn't be matched, and all of a sudden the floor exercises became extremely important.  Commack may not have been able to win in the end, but if they hadn't done tremendously well on the balance beam, things would have been over early.

Quotable: "Even though we couldn't pull out the win, they worked really hard for the team score," Commack Head Coach Cindy Green said. "These girls have tremendous spirit."

Bottom Line: These two are just as closely matched as their records have suggested. In fact, they're so close they tend to make the same mistakes, whether it be falls from the balance beam or sloppy landings. That said, both teams deserve to be at the top of League I and actually looked crisper in flips and handsprings than some more fundamental aspects.

Key Stat: Alyssa Burns' balance beam and floor exercise scores. Rarely does one athlete's stats warrant being called a key to the match, but when a gymnast scores 9.55 in not one, but two events, twice topping the score of any other girls in any event, it can't go unnoticed. However, Smithtown's 44.975 and Commack's 44.525 in floor exercises also says a lot about the match-up and shows just how hard these two were fighting for a win in the end.

Commack Fall Girls Gymnastics

EVENT…….........…..Commack………Smithtown

Vaulting……….........…41.625…….……...43.200

Bars…………..........…...38.300…...………39.550

Balance Beam.........…42.475…………....41.450

Floor Exercise….........44.525……….……44.975

Final…………..............166.925…………..169.175