Barrington excited for future after downing Elk Grove

Barrington is looking to mix it up this year.

The Fillies, who have a nice blend of seniors, juniors and freshmen on their varsity girls gymnastics team, opened their season at home Monday with an impressive 138.65 to 109.25 win over Elk Grove.

"I am impressed with them," Barrington coach Jason Loeffler said. "But I am with them every day. They all work well together. You wouldn't be able to tell the underclassmen are the underclassmen. They mesh well. Real well."

Barrington senior Lauren Tenbrunsel is one of nine seniors on the Barrington squad.

"It has been fun," Tenbrunsel said. "The freshmen have been great and very responsive to the leadership and it is going well."

Tenbrunsel had the top all-around score with a 35.95. She also had the top score in the vault (9.15), the bars (9.05) and the beam (8.80).

"This season is a little different than the last since it is my last," Tenbrunsel said. "I am not doing gymnastics in college. I am going to motivate myself for the fun of it and be a leader."

Tenbrunsel had help from freshmen Ellie Marquis, who won the floor with a 9.05 and Sofia Rosenzweig, who was third in the all-around with a 33.75.

"It was so much fun," Marquis said. "Everyone is so nice here. It was scary at first, but they came from my gym. Everyone is super-welcoming."

Jade Moranetz, who is a junior, was second in the all-around with 34.30. She also tied Tenbrunsel on the vault with a 9.15.

The Fillies also got solid performances from Brooke Husby, who is a junior and seniors Alana Riemenschneider and Zoe Zakson.

"The freshmen are going to make a huge difference for us," Loeffler said. "They are so quiet and reserved and it is nice to see them wake up, especially on the floor, where they can be dancing and moving."

Loeffler said he likes his team's chances to move up from its second-place finish in the Mid-Suburban League last season.

"I think this is a much better team," Loeffler said. "It is a lot deeper team. And we have great senior leadership."

Elk Grove, which is returning three starters from last year, is hoping to get those fourth and fifth scores to pick up, according to head coach Amy Rivera.

"We are just about where we were last year, Rivera said. "That is individually for the girls we have back. We had some key losses, but we have some people who are getting their feet wet and trying to build from here."

Katie Talens, Hannah Baumeister and Rachel Ford, who are all returning seniors, competed in the all-around for the Grenadiers. That trio got help from Lexie Mahoney and Kayla Montemayor.

"Overall, we had a solid night," Rivera said. "It is early in the season and we're looking to clean up some cobwebs."