The gymnastics team has kicked off another successful season, placing first in their most recent meet at Chantilly High School after two previous wins and a third and second place.
“I think our record is a lot better this year,” sophomore Lindsey Price said.
Price cites their win at conference championships last year as one of the reasons for their success.
“I think we have a lot of momentum in the sense that we are kind of coming off from doing well last season, so we have more confidence,” Price said. “We don’t think of ourselves as underdogs anymore.”
Senior Giorgia Iannetti also believes that their win has contributed to their achievements.
“That has definitely given us a lot of confidence,” Iannetti said. “It was the first conference [we] won in a long time.”
In addition to their success at the conference, Iannetti said hard work and varied practices also come into play.
“Our coach pushes us a lot even though sometimes we don’t want to condition,” Iannetti said. “We’re tired and we don’t want to work as hard as we should.”
Head gymnastics coach Charlotte Perpall also highlighted the effort the sport demands.
“I think all of the girls are really dedicated and committed to the team,” Perpall said. “It’s a really small team, so everybody really has to pull their own weight.”
In a typical practice, the team conditions and the girls rotate through each event they compete in.
“This deep into the season we really base practices off of competitions,” Perpall said, “so we kind of look at how we performed in the last meet and work from there.”
A major hurdle the team has overcome has been the many injuries and illnesses that coincide with important meets.
“We get injured a lot, and sometimes people get sick, so maybe that’s when we get third place,” Iannetti said.
Perpall explained that despite the frequent setbacks, the team has come out on top.
“Of our top six [gymnasts] I think four at least have been hurt or sick for almost every meet, so it’s been a challenge,” Perpall said, “but definitely other teammates have just stepped up and contributed, so we have still been able to perform really well.”
Now the girls are preparing for this year’s conference championships, which will take place on Feb. 2 at Marshall.
“We have been competing and preparing for conferences, so we’re excited,” Iannetti said.