After having a mistake on bars in the second rotation, the Panthers needed to put it out of their minds and come back strong on the balance beam. They did just that, tallying a 49.100, which ties for the fourth best beam rotation in program history.
“I’m really proud of the grit and tenacity that we showed, and I’m also really proud of their short term memory,” head coach Samantha Snider said. “That’s something we’ve talked to them a lot about: short term memory within an event—if there’s a mistake and even within your routine if there’s a mistake. That’s something that they struggled with a little bit earlier in the year.”
The beam rotation was led by the always steady Brittany West with a 9.875, as well as freshman Kiley Robatin with a 9.900, her highest score on beam thus far. Snider was happy to see the beam lineup rewarded for all their hard work.
“We train really well on that event, so I’m so happy to see that translate into competition and then for them to get rewarded, especially Kiley,” Snider said. “She’s rock solid for us. She’s probably one of our most consistent athletes on that event, so I was so happy for her to do that and compete the way she’s been training and then for her to get rewarded with a 9.900.”
Snider says that she emphasizes to the team that the most important thing after a mistake is how you come back from it. “We told them tonight, ‘One mistake doesn’t define who you are and doesn’t define what you do, it’s how you can bounce back from that.’”
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Article by Mary Emma Burton
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