BG stands tall in debut
There was a moment during the floor exercise routine where Buffalo Grove's Linda Dunne seemed a bit lost.
But the junior was a guiding force for the Bison for the majority of Wednesday evening.
Dunne was in rare form all night, including notching a career best in winning the beam (9.65) and leading Buffalo Grove to 134.40-115.90 opening night Mid-Suburban League girls gymnastics crossover victory at Conant.
BG was missing senior Reiko Akiyoshi, but the Bison and Dunne didn't miss a beat.
"She had a solid first meet," said BG coach Stephanie Schrader of Dunne, who has been a state qualifier the past two seasons. "Definitely things we can work on, but I'm happy with where we started."
Dunne won the all-around, scoring a 37.2 by sweeping all four individual events. The junior won the bars (9.05), the vault (9.5), and floor (9.0).
But it was the beam that stood out. Dunne wobbled a bit during her routine but never fell then nailed a gainer full dismount to cap a stunning performance.
"Once I get to the dismount it's like 'OK, I've got this,'" said Dunne. "I've been doing that dismount for awhile so for me it's one of the easier ones."
Freshman Katie Strack took second in the all-around (33.1) for the Bison, adding a second-place finish on the bars (8.0) and floor (8.8).
Junior Megan Clardy took second on the beam (9.3), nailing her routine without a fall, and freshman Krysta Walters had a nice debut by taking third in the all-around (28.35).
Conant and coach Lorel Cunningham are putting the pieces together for the Cougars.
One of those pieces is Kelly Hendricks. The senior is coming off a fifth-place finish at state in diving and just started practicing on Monday.
But Hendricks shook off the rust in taking second in the vault (9.1) and third on the beam (9.0).
"I wanted a 9.0 tonight and I got two of them," said Hendricks of her performance. "I'm pretty happy with my performance."
Senior Courtney Gann took second on the bars (8.0) and third on the floor (8.3) for Conant.
Hendricks, Gann, sophomore Nicole Duffy, and junior Kristen Mpistolardes all were sectional qualifiers last season, giving the Cougars plenty of experience this season.
"They all have different strengths," added Cunningham, "Anything can happen. These girls are bound and determined and it showed tonight. Now we just have to get healthy and get our skills and routines in."
Schaumburg d. Wheeling: Brooke Shimon won the balance beam (9.0) and Ashley Miller and Caitlin Barrett finished 2-3 in the all-around as Schaumburg scored 130.85 to beat Wheeling (107.75) in the MSL crossover.
Wheeling's Amy Burke won the all-around (9.025 average) and finished first on vault (9.45), floor (9.5) and uneven bars (8.8).
Miller took second on vault (8.75), beam (8.4) and floor (9.2).
Stevenson d. Vernon Hills: Stevenson chalked up a nice score to start the girls gymnastics season.
How nice?
How about a 146.45?
"I'm completely satisfied with that score," coach Judy Harwood said.
The Patriots took second in state last February and return several athletes, so perhaps their strong start against host Vernon Hills (86.9) on Wednesday night was no surprise.
"We didn't put in our best lineup," Harwood said. "We put in experimental routines. Not everyone hit their routines. It's a fine score to start with and we can build from that."
Senior Shana Manning was the only Stevenson all-arounder against Vernon Hills and totaled a 36.2.