By: Rich Fisher
The gap is closing.
Relax, we’re not talking about your favorite pants store in the mall.
We’re talking about the distance between the gymnastics teams at South Brunswick High and Bishop Ahr. And with a little more balance on the beam, the Vikings could get even closer to the class team of the conference by the time the Greater Middlesex Conference meet rolls around.
The Vikings fell to the Trojans last Thursday, 110.425 to 107.675. In establishing another school record for points (which it set two weeks ago), the SBHS fell by less than three points to the Bishop Ahr. Last year, they lost by over four.
"Both teams did really well," coach Erika Casey said. "It was just exciting for our girls to beat their record again, even though we did not have such a great day on the beam. But even though it was a loss, it was still a record for us and a good day."
Ironically, the beam has traditionally been a strong point for South Brunswick. This year, however, it has turned into the Vikings weakest event as they have been hurt by too many falls.
"We can close the gap on Bishop Ahr, but we need to stay on beam," Casey said. "Once they stay on beam they’ll be fine. It’s beam that’s killing us now, because we have falls all over the place.
"We’ve been practicing. They’re all strong on beam, but you lose points when you fall."
Other than that, things continue to look good for this talented group. Their results against Bishop Ahr are as follows:
Vault: Marisa Liptak, 9.3 (2nd place), Shannon Martin, 9.2, Ellise Kaplowitz, 8.75, Sarah Caputo, 8.7 and Chrissy Saragnese, 8.3; Bars: Liptak, 9.2 (2nd), Martin, 8.775, Kaplowitz, 8.7, Carissa Macay, 8.325, Jess Macay, 8.125; Beam: Jess Macay, 9.1, Martin, 8.8, Kaplowitz, 8.45, Liptak, 7.325, Lisa Bondi, 7.975; Floor: Liptak 9.475 (1st), Martin, 9.2 (3rd), Carissa Macay, 8.725, Kaplowitz, 8.725, Jenna Mayfield, 7.3.
"Ellise did well," Casey said. "She’s always done well and she’s having a great season so far. And Shannon Martin is always putting in 110 percent, doing the best she can do on every event."
The Vikings followed their strong effort at Bishop Ahr with a victory at Old Bridge on Tuesday.
Carissa Macay, who was coming off an injury against the Trojans, looked strong in two events as she works her way back in the lineup.
"Carissa came back to compete on beam and bars and got the job done by reaching her sectional scores," Casey said. "Floor was a little tough because Old Bridge does not have a spring floor so the girls had to replace some of the harder tumbling passes with easier, watered down passes, but they still got the job done.
"Many of the girls that competed on floor are also coming off the middle school gymnastics season where they do not have a spring floor, so they were more used to this type of floor over some of the upper classmen. It was a great job by everyone."
The scores at Old Bridge were as follows:
Vault: Liptak, 9.175, Martin, 9.05, Mayfield, 8.35, Briahn Walton, 8.2, Becca Castagnola, 7.55; Bars: Liptak, 9.025, Martin, 8.8, Carissa Macay, 8.25, Rebekah Clavin, 7.125, Rachel Thompson, 5.425; Beam: Liptak, 8.575, Saragnese, 8.3, Carissa Macay, 8.2, Bondi, 7.6, Kristen Kirbos,7.25; Floor: Martin, 8.975, Jess Attardo, 8.5, Bondi, 7.95, Walton, 7.625, Megan Baguchinski, 6.35.
"It was a good meet for us," Casey said. "I got to hold some people out so they wouldn’t get hurt. We altered the lineup a bit to allow more competition time for some girls. We’ll do the same Thursday (today) against North Brunswick. I’m going to give some of the girls a break so they can practice hard on Friday for our meet against Montgomery Tuesday."
One thing that has Casey excited is Liptak’s new beam routine, which she is in the process of streamlining.
"Marisa has been working and competing a new series on beam a back handspring, back layout," the coach said. "It’s very difficult and when she hits, her score will definitely show her efforts. Not many girls are competing this skill on the beam. She just needs to fine tune and practice more, but she will be fine."
BACKFLIPS: Liptak and Kaplowitz have already qualified for sectionals in all around. Other Vikings who have qualified or nearly qualified, are: vault, Saragnese, Caputo, Martin, (Mayfield and Jess Macay have one qualifying score each and need one more); bars, Jess Macay, Martin (Caputo and Carissa Macay, one each); beam, Jess Macay, (Bondi, Martin, Saragnese, Carissa Macay one each); floor, Jess Macay, Martin, Liptak (Saragnese, one).

