Vikings' Gymnasts Prevail in Season Opener

The gymnasts competing at  in Port Washington on Thursday evening – the Conference II Port Washington Vikings and the Roslyn Bulldogs – saved their best for last: the floor exercise.

Twelve gymnasts flipped and twisted across the floor in a breathtaking display of tumbling.  When it was over, Roslyn's Keren Feldsher's score of 7.0 withstood an intense challenge by Port's final competitor – Jessica Medaglia.  Medaglia finished just one-tenth of a point behind, at 6.9.  As a team, the Vikings won the floor exercise by one point: 32.30 to 31.30.

Score: Port won the other three events by comfortable margins, and took the meet with a final score of 124.75 to Roslyn's 117.3.

The Quote: First year head coach Melissa Havern is optimistic about the season.  "We have a large team of 25 girls," she said, "and we have a lot of depth at all of the events." 

Looking ahead to the season just getting underway, Havern said it is demanding on the gymnasts – a lot of meets crowded into a short time.  Many of the girls train in private clubs to stay in form.  Havern, an assistant coach with Port last year, has a total of 11 years of gymnastics coaching.  Prior to that, she competed in NCAA gymnastics with SUNY Rockport. 

The highlight of the first event, vault, was Schreiber freshman Liz Wolf.  She had the highest score of any individual gymnast in the meet with her 7.95.  She nailed both of her vaults, hitting the springboard with power to lift her high over the horse and come down with solid landings.  Vault was her only event on Thursday, and it is not even her best.  "Floor," she said – and she expects to compete in floor at the next meet.  Other than that, she said, "I just hope it keeps going well, and that I stay consistent."  The Vikings won the event 37.55 to 35.8.

Heroes: Both teams struggled on the uneven bars, with only one gymnast – Jessica Medaglia – scoring higher than 6.  Medaglia won easily with her 6.1; the next best bars routine was by Damiana Dendy of Roslyn, with 5.5.  The final score for the event was 25.7 for Port; 24.1 for Roslyn.

The next rotation was balance beam, which was won by Carly Grieco of Port Washington with her 6.5.  Sherry Kim, also of Port, was second with 6.2.  The team score for the event was 29.2 for Port to 26.1 for Roslyn.

The evening concluded with the superb tumbling display put on by both teams, with several outstanding individual performances.  Besides the 1-2 finale, Damiana Dendy also hit a 6.9 with her energetic tumbling, superb dancing, and winning smile.  Candace Yap also contributed to Port's win with a solid 6.7, as she concentrated on difficult tumbling elements that she was able to execute well.

Throughout the meet, both teams demonstrated excellent sportsmanship, cheering each other on, chatting, and truly hoping for everybody to do well.  When the meet ended, the teams took turns cheering the other.

Who's Next: Port's next meet is at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 20 at Cold Spring Harbor High School.