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03/04/2012 11:00 PMCynthia Lerman wasn't exactly sure of what to expect when she made her debut with Branford gymnastics this winter. After all, it's never easy for a freshman to succeed in their first go-around of high school competition.
But on the plus side, Cynthia had experience in her corner as she's competed in USA Gymnastics since age six and earned her way to the elite title of being a Level 8 gymnast. Cynthia used that experience to her advantage this winter in a rookie campaign highlighted by her placing 10th in the all-around at the Southern Connecticut Conference Championship en route to All-SCC honors on behalf of growing Hornets' program.
"Coming in I didn't know much about high school rules or even what the All-SCC team was," Cynthia says. "I just wanted to do my best and show Coach [Brian] LeRoux what I could do."
Cynthia didn't wait long to show everyone her skills by taking first in the all-around right off the bat in a meet versus Foran, followed by another triumph against Hamden and North Haven. Cynthia then went up against a higher level of competitors when Branford took on perennial SCC powerhouse Hand and came away with second place in the all-around.
These showings set the stage for a magical evening at SCCs as Cynthia placed fifth on vault with a score of 8.8 to bolster her overall total of 31.9, putting her on the podium amongst the SCC's best as an all-conference competitor.
"There were so many good gymnasts to choose from and a bunch of seniors at that meet and so it was a big surprise that I made All-SCC," Cynthia says. "When I walked back, everyone was congratulating me, telling me they were proud, and couldn't stop hugging me."
Cynthia feels one thing which put her over the top at SCCs was that for the first time she performed a complex maneuver on vault called the tsuk, which involves a half turn off the springboard onto the vault table, followed by a push backwards into a back somersault or layout. Cynthia had worked on that move since the summer and says hitting it at such a huge meet made making All-SCC all the more special.
"I was extremely excited to hit a skill that I'd been working on for so long," says Cynthia, who followed her showing at SCCs by placing first on vault and bars in a USA meet with her JAG Gymnastics team from Wallingford. "I'm happy that I saved the tsuk for that the SCC meet because it wouldn't have felt as good if I did it during the regular season."
Coach LeRoux was elated to see Cynthia hit her move and fare so well on the big stage and talks about the immediate impact his freshman had on the Hornets.
"Cynthia was our best gymnast this year and it's a blessing when you get a well-rounded athlete like that on your team," says LeRoux of Cynthia, who also dove for Branford's girls' swim team this fall and will join Hornets' softball in the spring. "I was really happy to see Cynthia show the courage to complete her tsuk at the SCC meet and also to see how hard she worked this year to help make herself and our team better. Cynthia is very much about the team and always encourages her teammates and offers them advice."
LeRoux went on to add that "Cynthia still has a lot left in the tank and we haven't even seen her best yet." Cynthia-who's also involved with Leaps of Faith in which she teaches disabled people how to do water skiing-agrees with LeRoux and is already looking forward to posting even higher scores as a sophomore while guiding a Branford squad that just keeps getting better every season.
"I'm happy with how I did and how the team did this year as all of our girls put together some amazing routines," Cynthia says. "I hope everyone comes back next year and that we do even better."