Uhrich sisters lift Fremd

Fremd’s girl’s gymnastic team was missing a few key pieces on Wednesday night, but senior twins Stephanie and Elizabeth Uhrich helped deliver a big victory for the Vikings anyway.

Stephanie took first on the uneven bars (9.4) and second on the beam (9.3), with Elizabeth adding a first-place finish on floor (9.4) to pace host Fremd in a Mid-Suburban West triangular victory with 143.55 points in Palatine.

Fremd was missing junior Stephanie Gallo and then lost junior Anna Johnson to an ankle injury, but the Vikings hung tough in securing the MSL West title.

“I’m definitely proud of the girls for stepping up tonight,” said Fremd coach Tim Hamman. “It’s a testament to our depth, and it shows the perseverance and hard work that they have put in.”

Conant took second with a season-best 139.90 points, and Palatine recovered from a shaky beam to take third with 137.7 points.

Fremd started off sluggishly on vault, and it got worse when Johnson was injured on her second vault attempt.

But the Vikings responded on bars, with Stephanie Uhrich leading the way with an impressive series.

“We all kind of pulled together and tried our hardest,” said Stephanie Uhrich. “It was nice to win the division, especially since it’s our senior year.”

Elizabeth Uhrich then stepped up on the floor, the final event, to seal the outcome in favor of the Vikings.

“Things never go as planned in meets,” said Elizabeth Uhrich. “We just had to be ready to work hard under these conditions.”

And the Uhrichs had plenty of help, with sophomore Christine Jensen taking first on vault (9.6) and junior Shannon Lemajeur adding a first on the beam (9.4) and tying for third on bars (9.1) for the Vikings.

Junior Emily Pinderski added a second-place finish for Fremd on bars (9.2) and senior Kellie Boberek tied for second on floor (9.05)

“We don’t have one amazing star,” said Elizabeth Uhrich, “but we have plenty of depth.”

Sophomore Bri Bibel powered Conant to its best score of the season by taking first in the all-around (36.10), tying for second on the floor (9.05) and tying for third on the beam (9.1) and vault (9.3).

Bibel is still recovering from a back injury, but showed plenty of potential in her first all-around performance of the season.

“I just wanted to go out there and see what I could do,” she said. “We have a lot of young talent and it seems like we’re coming together.”

Junior Sarah Starzynski tied for third on the vault (9.3), and sophomore Meicie Bennett tied for third on the bars (9.1).

Palatine showed some rust early on the beam, but the Pirates recovered in the final three events with juniors Nicole Kuksuk (35.90) and Abby Alden (35.75), who placed 2-3 in the all-around.

Kuksuk added a second-place finish on vault (9.5) and Alden tied for third on beam (9.1).

“We were falling all over the place on the beam,” said Kuksuk. “We knew we had to pick it up.”