The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Hornets thump Adrian
Dominance on floor and balance beam leads to easy win
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 1, 2007
After convincingly winning the Adrian-hosted Adrian Invitational recently, Saline traveled to Adrian Jan. 24 confident they would be able to handle the Maples in a dual meet.
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That confidence helped propel the Hornets to a decisive 126.60-99.05 win on the road. Coach Paul VanSlambrouck saw the meet as another step in the right direction for the Hornets, while also cautioning his team still has plenty of room for improvement.
"We had some rough spots on the bars," he said. "But we came out smelling like a rose … On the beam and floor, we did very well. They did what they had to do to pull this out."
VanSlambrouck said the "rough spots" were due in part to a few different factors, including equipment at Adrian that was different from what the Hornets were used to, the difficulty adjusting to that, and perhaps some overconfidence. But in the end, Saline's quality came through in the final two events and the Hornets coasted to the victory.
"That reflected their tournament toughness," VanSlambrouck said. "They really picked it up, especially on the floor.
"We were pleased with a lot of our results."
Saline was led by junior Paige Cederna, who scored 33.55 for the highest Hornet score in the All-Around competition. She was followed by Brooke Pleger, who finished with a 31.55, and Kara Williams with a 31.075.
But VanSlambrouck was equally interested in the results of all his gymnasts. He says that his freshmen have made huge strides and that even some more experienced members of the squad –– like junior Moriah Grooms, whose "strong work ethic" has led to quality performances on the beam, an event she only recently began competing in — have dramatically improved.
"That's what we want –– to see that improvement over time," he said. "We're looking forward to getting everybody into competition. Everyone will compete this year."
The top three Hornet scores at the Adrian meet in the vault belonged to Kristy Richart (8.375), Karen Thompson (8.3) and Cederna (8.25). In the uneven bars, Cederna (8.25) was followed by Williams (7.125) and Pleger (7.0). On the beam, Cederna's 8.75, Pleger's 8.1 and Thompson 8.05 were the Saline high scores, and on the floor Cederna and Williams tied for team-high at 8.3 while Pleger scored 8.25 and Rachel Cole 7.55.
The team's next meet is at home Monday against Holt. Competition is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.
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