The Beavers certainly gave the Spartans something to gnaw on.
Wouldn’t you know that Ballard — the defending state champions in girls 3A gymnastics — would visit Bainbridge High for the season-opener?
A tough test, tis true, but the Spartans quickly found their footing in an unexpected place: the floor exercise.
Bainbridge tallied three scores in the 9 range at Friday’s opener on the Rock; Emma Chee finished with 9.35, Remi Rosencrans came in with a 9.2 and Morgan Detrickx claimed a 9.1.
“Our floor [event], I thought we rocked it,” said Bainbridge Coach Cindy Guy. “Those floor scores were fabulous. The kids did a great job.”
So good, in fact, that it was something unseen in Bainbridge’s gymnastics gym in a long time.
“It’s the highest score we’ve had since 2009,” Guy said.
Bainbridge finished with a team score of 45.05 in the floor exercise.
“And a 45 will put you in the top four, maybe at least three, at state,” she added.
Ballard successfully defended its title at the Dec. 2 three-way matchup (which also featured Holy Names Academy), but not by much.
The Beavers tallied 168.55, while Bainbridge finished with a team score of 164.65. Holy Names was third, with 151.6.
The Spartans saw much success in other events, and the team nearly hit its goal for the vault.
“Our goal is to get around a 42 and we got 41.75,” Guy said.
That’s no great disappointment, however. “We had higher scores than we had last year,” she said. “I’m really happy with our scores for the first meet.”
This year’s team had many Spartans step up for the season debut, and Guy has a large roster to draw from; more than 30.
“We feel like we have lots of depth,” Guy said.
Bars was one example. Beam, another.
“I’m extremely happy with our beam score, 41.4, and five stick routines. We missed some connections, but that’s OK,” she said. “We know that’s something we can work on.”
Emma Chee was Bainbridge’s standout on beam; she notched a 9.1 in Friday’s meet.
The team’s total score, north of 160, was the highest for a first meet in years.
Guy attributed the big number to the talent of the team, and the hard work that’s already paying off. Some gymnasts were also kept out of the opener, but will expect to see action in future meets.
“We have lots of depth and we have a lot of kids who aren’t at full strength. And a lot of kids who didn’t have enough practices that they could go today, so we still have more,” she said.
The team has a number of freshman and gymnasts making the transition from club sports to high school competition.
They’re learning that while some routines must change to meet the requirements of high school competition, there’s also more of a family feel from their sister Spartans.
“Being on a team, it takes the pressure off of you,” Guy said.
“They really listened. We made changes yesterday, even,” she said.
“They are doing well. Give them advice and they take it, and that’s what counts.”
The coach said she’ll look to Chee and Willa Jones-Irwin to provide leadership and guidance to the younger gymnasts, and each has her own approach and role to fill.
This year’s team also includes Alathea Pippinger, Emery Anderson, Maria Flynn, Tate Goff, Claire Laughbon, Alex Miller, Laura Murphy, Paige Montgemery, Georgia Sauermann, Kareese Pippinger, Keagan Daniels, Josie Hill, Peyton Teran, Veronica Liberman, Siqi Talley, Mariko Ronan, Kaela Ellis, Brianna Bruyere, Kylie Daniels, Ashleigh Cate, Sarah Jung, Sydney Brothertonen, Sophia DeBellis, Lina Klinkenberg, Rachel Liberman, Elizabeth Rolfes, Karena Klinkenberg, Nicole Holmes and Madeline Woods.
The team is gelling, even amid high expectations that can only be heightened given the performances against Ballard and Holy Names at the season’s start.
“They are having fun. You can see they are a community, a group of kids who really enjoy each other,” Guy said.
The Spartans will compete in a string of three home meets before heading out on the road to face West Seattle and Holy Names in mid January.
Next up is Nathan Hale and Roosevelt at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9.
