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01/23/2012 11:00 PMThe Hand gymnastics team appears to be headed towards another impressive season in 2012, earning a few more wins last week to remain undefeated at 4-0. The Tigers were the best in a quad-meet with various Southern Connecticut Conference opponents on Jan. 17 and then bettered Foran on Jan. 19.
In the quad-meet, the Tigers' score of 133.10 was better than North Haven (81.70), Branford (59.60), and Hamden (40.50). Leading the charge for Hand was senior captain Kimmy Megargee by posting a 34.5 all-around with a 9.0 on vault and bars. Sophomore Stefani Taschner earned a 33.0 all-around from the judges, scoring a 9.2 on vault and 8.7 on floor; sophomore Kendall Jerzyk totaled a 33.0 all-around score, helped by an 8.6 on floor and 8.5 on bars; and senior captain Maia Smith paced the team with a 32.75 all-around total with an 8.4 on floor and 8.0 on beam. Sophomore Ashlyn Thompson also chipped in with an 8.0 on floor.
"Vault, bars, and floor were great events for us tonight," said Hand Coach Kelly Smith. "And 133 is a decent team score, however, we had a lot of trouble on beam tonight, counting eight falls from our top four competitors. It was certainly not our best day and highlighted a weakness that we will continue to work on throughout the season."
Two nights later, the Tigers were back in action, this time taking on SCC foe Foran. As has been the case all season, Hand walked off the mats winners, 135.5-112.75. Megargee again led the way with a 36.4 all-around score, totaling 9.3 on the floor, 9.2 on the vault, and 9.1 on the beam. Taschner scored a 33.7 all-around, posting an 8.95 on vault and 8.6 on bars; while Jerzyk had a 32.9 all-around, helped by an 8.85 on floor and an 8.55 on vault. Smith scored an 8.25 on floor and sophomore Lexi Stathakism made her high school debut, performing on the vault.
"On a really positive note, we scored 35 as a team floor score tonight, which is our highest of the season," Smith said. "Kimmy [Megargee] also had her best all-around of the season, a 36.4, which is a very high all-around and included a mistake on bars. Not only has she also increased her difficulty this year, but she is also our most consistent competitor. We're very pleased with how her senior season is going thus far."