Gymnastics takes down Evanston

Team pulls out narrow victory against conference rivals

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, varsity gymnastics defeated Evanston in an early season conference dual meet.

Despite several Trevian gymnasts being out due to sickness, the team was able to come out on top by a final score of 136.3-129.1. A key factor in the Trevians’ winning effort was their collective ability to step up in the face of this adversity.

“We had some different girls competing in different events [because of the sickness],” said head coach Jen Pistorius. “It was nice that we have a large talented team—we have a lot of girls to pull from at different levels and different events.”

Junior Amelia Montgomery was sick during the meet, so she only competed in the vault instead of her usual all-around slate. Considering how being sick set her and many of her teammates back, Montgomery felt that the team did an overall solid job in winning the meet.

“It definitely was not our best meet because we only got a 136, but without our full lineup and a lot of people being sick it wasn’t that bad,” she said.

Outside of struggling with teamwide sickness, the Trevians also had to fight through a lot of falls. Pistorius explained that Seniors Maeve Murdock and Rachel Zun, two of the team’s top gymnasts, are working on new routines with more difficult tricks.

“Rachel tried her new release move and she had it and then fell,” said Pistorius. “And, then, Maeve made her whole routine and then just kind of over-rotated her landing, so we did have to count a bunch of falls last night.”

Such falls are a necessary part of learning a harder routine, but they were almost costly for the Trevians against Evanston.

The Trevians emphasized that sickness and difficult new routines is not meant to discredit Evanston’s strength as a team nor downplay their own successes in the meet.

“In terms of the competition, I definitely think Evanston has overall improved from last year and previous years, and I think they did a pretty good job at this meet specifically,” said Montgomery.

Regarding the Trevians’ own strengths at the meet, Pistorius noted, “[Sophomore] Maria Morobito had a nice beam routine—I think she was our only stick for the varsity level. And, on floor, Rachel, Maeve, and Maria all had really nice routines.”

Looking ahead, the Trevians will need to get better if they are going to repeat or improve upon last year’s second place finish at state.

In an article published in the Glencoe Anchor on Dec. 10, Pistorius said “That’s [winning a state championship] the ultimate goal.”

The first key to winning state

will be to win the Central Suburban South Conference. Glenbrook South is projected to be one of the better teams in the state and this meet against Evanston showed that the Wildkits are a strong opponent, so GBS will be a tough challenge.

If they win their conference, the Trevians will have to face the best the state has to offer at regionals, sectionals, and state. Two-time defending state champion Glenbard West Hilltoppers are as good as ever, and four school co-op Prairie Ridge looks formidable after defeating both the Trevians and the Hilltoppers at the Glenbard West Invitational earlier this season.

“We kind of know what we have to work with working towards the state series,” said Pistorius.

In the end, how well the Trevians do this season will come down to them. They still need to improve, but anything will be possible if they work hard to get better and have fun doing it.

“Some future goals we have for the season are really just going out there and doing our best,” said Montgomery. “I think getting a new record score [at state] is possible if we do our very best and just have fun.”