Blair beats Springbrook but bested by WJ

APRIL 27-

The Blair gymnastics team competed today against the Walter Johnson Wildcats and the Springbrook Blue Devils in a fairly even match-up. Blair took second place with 149.45 behind the strong Wildcats (169.25) and in front of the Blue Devils (115.17). Although Blair placed second, the Blazers seemed to be cursed as soon as they stepped foot into the gymnasium. Plagued by falls and injuries, Blair persevered and finished with second.

The Blazers scored highest on bars with junior Lisa Wong earning a 9.3. Freshmen Anna Hadfield and Abby Cember also performed well along with junior Nicole Poor with scores all in the high sevens. Wong, Hadfield and Poor were rewarded for their efforts with a second place win for Wong and a tie for sixth with 7.8s for Hadfield and Poor.

Blair's next best event was the vault. All seven Blazers who competed scored a seven or above, with Hadfield topping off the list at 8.3. This success was a surprise after watching the Blazers practice before the event where the Blazers were slipping all over the vault, sometimes landing a little too close to the vault for comfort. However, everyone, including injured competitor Senior Elena Ramsey and Wong, who is recovering from an injury procured at the last meet. Wong and Hadfield placed fourth and third in the standings for vault with scores of 8.2 and 8.3 respectively.

Blair's floor routines were all skillfully done and fun to watch. Hadfield's floor performance was well connected and visually appealing, earning her the top score of 8.7. Senior co-captain Raya Steinberg earned a 7.4 with her, performance, contributing to the team's final high score. However, Hadfield was the only Blair representative in the standings for floor tonight, earning fifth place.

The beam event was particularly troublesome for the Blazers. Poor earned the highest score of 7.9 and performed beautifully, along with teammate Cember who earned a 7.8. However, many of the Blazers had a difficult time staying on the beam. Hadfield, a normally dependable competitor, fell off the beam four times, finishing with a 6.4 along with sophomore Nazanin Yousefnjad who fell three times and Steinberg who fell once. After every time they fell, however, the Blazers got right back on the beam and continued trying until they had executed the move perfectly. Poor earned sixth place in the final standings for beam and although the rest did not win any prizes, their perseverance was exemplary.

Blair did not have any best All-Around gymnasts tonight, a Walter Johnson gymnast won first place with a combined score of 36.2. The Wildcats stole almost all of best All-Around gymnast positions except sixth place which went to Springbrook. Although in terms of numbers tonight was not Blair's best, the Blazers continued to fight together against many obstacles to win second overall.