Geneva defeats Batavia, Neuqua Valley

Geneva sophomore Claire Ginsberg, the defending all-around state champion, missed the Vikings' win over Batavia and Neuqua Valley in Naperville on Monday night, sidelined by a nasty flu bug that has played havoc throughout the area the past week.

Even without their top performer in the lineup, though, Geneva cruised to an Upstate Eight Conference victory with 137.25 points.

Batavia, competing for the first time this year, was second with a 129.65, while the host Wildcats had a season-best 126.

"Claire had the flu so we had to pull up a couple kids, and we had six kids out today so something is going around," Geneva coach Kim Hostman said. "I was still pleased with the result, though. We made a lot of mistakes on floor and bars and still hit a 137.25."

Seniors and co-captains Megan Beitzel and Grace Ginsberg led the Vikings to the win. Ginsberg was the meet's top floor performer, earning a 9.2. She used that to claim the top all-around score of 34.3. Beitzel had the evening's best vault, recording a 9.35. She finished with a 32.7.

"It was nice to see our two captains lead the team," Hostman said. "They're both really good leaders and they know what it takes during the season. We want to keep things clean and become consistent."

Geneva is ambitious again this year and is eyeing a third straight trip to state. In order to do that, the Vikings are going to need some newcomers to step up, as they did on Monday.

Holly Friedel won bars with an 8.4 while Julia Grootens led the way on beam with an 8.9.

Illness and injury didn't just plague Geneva; Batavia was shorthanded as well. The Bulldogs were without two gymnasts, including senior all-arounder Courtney Glassman (hip injury).

"Not too shabby for having two girls out and not being 100 percent," Batavia coach Taryn Boyce said. "It'll be nice to see what we can do if we can get everyone back and healthy."

Junior Meghan McGee appears ready for a special season. She didn't win a single event on Monday but finished with a 33.3 in the all-around, which included a 9.3 on vault and 9 on floor.

"She is totally kicking butt and looking really good," Boyce said. "And today Cameron (Hindel) wasn't supposed to do beam and was very good there. Overall, there were a lot of things that we can fix easily, so we're looking pretty good."

Lauren Stangl scored a 31.3 in the all-around for the Bulldogs.

Isis Ruff led Neuqua Valley with a 32.5 in the all-around while teammate Emily Jacobs had the team's only top-three finish in any of the events, posting an 8.8 on beam.

"We're heading in the right direction, but we still have a lot of work to do," Neuqua Valley coach Anthony Avella said. "I'd like to be where we were at last year in January, but it's going to take some time. But we're seeing some improvement every time in practice and it's showing in our score."

Colleen Moauro added an 8.1 on floor, and Meghan Leschock had a 7.9 on bars for the Wildcats.