By David F.P.

This is a modest preview of the 2008-2009 season for the Bridgeport Purple Knights.

What follows is a discussion of the roster in terms of who is new to the team and who has left it, and beyond that is an overview of last year’s lineup and their scores to attempt to give a picture of the contributions made by the returnees. You’ll also find a brief snapshot of some of the moves the team has performed, as well as info as to how the team performed last year, and a discussion of the team’s opponents this year. As always, for more info you can consult the official athletics site and the Troester Gyminfo web site. I try to blend the perspective of just being a fan of gymnastics, so I cannot offer the technical discussion that might be found from experts, but I do what I can. Please note that it is difficult to locate stats from the postseason championships due to some websites being down so the stats quoted are based on the best available information.

The Coaches: Byron Knox who wears many hats in Connecticut gymnastics, assisted by former Purple Knight standout Becky Caravetta, and new arrival Matthew Mings.

The Gymnasts: (Information from Bridgeport Sports Information and Troester GymInfo)
(Special thank you to the reader who corrected me and pointed out that Hannah and Yohannah Forti are twins. Thanks much! )

Losses: Brandi Embrey, Taylor Rut, Teri Musall, Jenamarie Henderson, Dina Savoca, Yvette Mirando, Holly Grider, Kristy Napolitano, Macey Petit

New Seniors: Shannon Cain, Kelsey Fox , Kat Reitz

Other Returnees: Leila Behbahani. Niki Calderon Breanna Collins, Jamie DePaola, Sara Doody, Bethanne Dulany, Hannah Forti, Yohannah Forti, Lorraine Galow, Carissa Huggins, Ravin Iasiello, Stephanie Morgan, Kaitlyn O’Donnell

Newcomers: Carolyn Colon, Miranda Der, Amanda Goodman, Jennifer Keating, Brooke Lawson, Nija Maynard, Caroline McAvity, Emily Repko, Yvonne Scott, Megan Shea, Jessica Watts

Discussion: With a roster as long as Bridgeport’s, the loss of nine gymnasts is not as numerically difficult to manage as it would be for some other teams in collegiate gymnastics however Embrey, Rut, and Musall, the seniors had been veterans of the past UB campaigns and each had their role in the lineup. Mirando was a key part of the lineup as well during her freshman year, and would logically be missed in the lineup. Savoca and Henderson were role players in the lineup last year as well and the three freshmen who are not returning are question marks in that we never got to see what they could do. There is always transition in gymnastics though.

The team added 11 freshmen this season which is larger than some team’s entire rosters have been from time to time. They’re joined with the 16 returning gymnasts. Needless to say UB has a lot of depth including regionals attendee Lorraine Galow. Under the current system, the competition for the 5 all around regionals spots is pretty tight.

Bridgeport retains its core and will have lineup spots to fill as well.
While there was some early experimentation in the lineup it was mainly Morgan, DePaola, Mirando, Hannah Forti, Galow, and Iasiello making up the Vault rotation, with Henderson, Savoca, and Reitz appearing sporadically.

On the Bars, Embrey, Hannah Forti, Galow and Morgan competed in every single meet on the event for UB, and Behbahani competed in every meet but one. Huggins, Mirando, and Musall held the other spot at various times during the year, though Huggins had it the majority of the time.

On the Beam Collins, Galow, Mirando, and Morgan competed in every single meet, and Rut was either in the lineup or Bridgeport only competed 5. The other lineup slot was mainly Iasiello’s, but Dulany, Doody, and DePaola also made appearances.

On the Floor, Galow and Morgan competed in every meet. Mirando was in the lineup on FX for all meets but one, and Collins competed on Floor from meet 3 on. Reitz competed in most of UB’s meets as well. Iasiello also was generally in the lineup. Huggins, Cain, DePaola, and Fox filled in various spots as well.

Individual Scoring 2007-2008:

My views on scoring go back and forth, as I believe any gymnast who has obtained the skills set to compete at all in the college level deserves a heap of credit and routines can be amazing to watch no matter what score they bring. However, obviously scoring does provide a measure of performance, and scores play in to so much of the sport. As always for the full scoring breakdowns Troester is the place to look, this is just a summary.

Vault
Iasiello had the team’s high with a 9.7, Mirando was second with a 9.65, Galow had a 9.55, DePaola 9.5, Hannah Forti 9.475, Calderon a 9.4, and Morgan 9.3. With all but one of these gymnasts returning it gives UB a solid starting point one would think.

Bars

Embrey and Behbahani shared the team high of 9.65, with Galow at 9.6, Hannah Forti at 9.575, Morgan at 9.45, Musall at 9.425, and Huggins at 9.3. Embrey and Musall’s departure does leave a gap but five high scorers remain at least.

Beam

Galow set the pace with her 9.8 high, Mirando was right behind her with a 9.725, Iasiello had a 9.625 high, Collins and Rut had 9.575s, and Morgan a 9.525. Two of the gymnasts won’t be returning so UB will have to draw from elsewhere.

Floor
Mirando edged Galow for the top team score with a 9.775 to 9.75. Collins had a 9.65, Morgan a 9.6, Iasiello 9.45, Reitz 9.425, Cain 9.35, Fox 9.35, and DePaola 9.25. The team still has their largest core of high scorers on this event even with the high scoring Mirando unavailable.

All Around
Galow had the top high of 38.4, Morgan had a 37.15, and Mirando a 36.9 high.

2008-2009 Opponents:

Pittsburgh
2007-2008: No meetings.

Notes: The Knights will be at Pitt to open their season.

New Hampshire
2007-2008 UB 177.075 UNH 191.465
UB 189.100 UNH 193.625

Notes: The southernmost New England team and northernmost will meet 3 times this season first at Pitt, and then UNH travels to Bridgeport the next week. Bridgeport returns the favor several weeks later and visits Durham. Both teams have a tendency to use eclectic groups of floor music so it’ll be interesting to see them together, even more so when Yale also is in the building.

Air Force
2007-2008: No meetings.

Notes: How often does a Purple Knight encounter a Falcon? Twice this season that’s for sure. AF will be at Pitt, and later at UNH.

Yale
2007-2008 UB 181.750 Yale 185.225
UB 185.676 Yale 187.700

Notes: The pair of teams each have their own exits off I-95 and will trade home appearances as Yale will be with UNH at Bridgeport and later Bridgeport will take the short road trip to the Elm City to take on the Bulldogs.

Temple
2007-2008: No meetings.

Notes: Bridgeport’s rivals are the Owls, only those Owls are closer to home, still I guess Owls all stand together and so UB will begin its battle against the night flyers in Philadelphia.

Brown
2007-2008: UB 188.675 Brown 185.825
UB 189.100 Brown 181.600
UB 189.250 Brown 184.325
Notes: The two teams will meet once this season despite seeing a lot of each other last year.

Penn State
2007-2008: No meetings.

Notes: The Nittany Lions will welcome in UB mid season.

Rutgers
2007-2008 UB 177.075 Rutgers 183.450
UB 187.625 Rutgers 189.900

Notes: Nearly a year after their meeting in a five way meet, Bridgeport will be back in Piscataway to take on the Scarlet Knights. In medieval times, a meeting of this magnitude might have led to land changing hands, but now it’ll just mean exciting gymnastics.

Southern Connecticut
2007-2008 UB 181.750 SCSU 185.850
UB 185.675 SCSU 183.125
UB 183.850 SCSU 184.675
UB 184.625 SCSU 184.875
UB 187.200 SCSU 187.625 (ECACS)

Notes: UB’s fellow D2 ECAC Rival and reigning champion from down the highway won’t meet them in competition until March, and that’s just a few weeks until ECACD2 championships at SCSU. The Owls and Knights always produce exciting match ups and this year looks to be no different. SCSU won 4 of their 5 meetings last year, but in many cases not by much. With both teams reloading for this year it should be another set of close match ups.

William & Mary
2007-2008: No meetings.

Notes: After hanging around the tri-state area for three weeks, UB will be in Virginia in the closing weeks of their season and William AND Mary will take them on in an ECAC D1 vs. D2 clash.

Towson
2007-2008 UB 186.775 Towson 191.875

Notes: A week after being in Virginia, UB will be at Towson in what could be a very interesting match up prior to both teams being in New Haven the next week for their respective championships.

West Chester
2007-2008 UB 188.75 WCU 174.255
UB 184.625 WCU 170.600
UB 187.200 WCU 174.075

Notes: The two teams won’t cross paths until ECACD2 championships apparently, as WCU works to get back even with their two competitors in CT.

Moves Snapshot from 2007-2008:
This is just to give an idea of some of the moves being done by this team. I record the routines and review them later to work towards the best accuracy I can. A caveat to this are that is likely I have made some mistakes and welcome corrections. Unfortunately when working with time limitations there will likely be errors, but I’d rather try and correct errors than not try at all.
I wrote down notes based on announcements and other cues, but given that, it occurred nearly a year ago so I may have made a mistake so please feel free to send corrections along. I don’t attempt to recount every single move within each routine, just as many as I can. I scribbled down notes as to who was competing last year, and I hope they are accurate as unfortunately, my video angle isn’t great for picking faces out of the clips, so please let me know if I’ve misidentified.
Vault
Morgan
Yurchenko, back layout.
DePaola
Yurchenko, back layout.
Hannah Forti
Yurchenko, back layout.
Mirando
FHS, Front tuck.
Galow
Tsukahara, back layout.
Iasiello
FHS, Front pike.
Savoca
FHS, Front tuck.
Calderon
Yurchenko, back layout.
Bars
Musall
Mount from middle of the bars to the high bar, grip change on the high bar, aerial high to low transition, back 1 1/2 twist off dismount.
Embrey
Mount over low bar to high bar I believe, gienger, grip change on high bar, aerial high to low transition, back tuck dismount.
Hannah Forti
Mount straddles low bar to high bar…grip change, straddled jaeger, aerial high to low transition, grip change, back tuck dismount.
Morgan
Mount to low bar, grip change on high bar, aerial high to low transition, aerial low to high transition, front tuck dismount.
Behbahani
Mount to low bar, aerial low to high transition, grip change on high bar, aerial high to low transition, back tuck dismount.
Galow
Mount to low bar, grip change on high bar, grip change, grip change, aerial high to low transition, aerial low to high transition, back tuck dismount.
Cain
Mount to low bar, aerial high to low transition, aerial low to high transition, grip change on high bar, back tuck dismount.
Huggins
Mount to low bar, grip change on high bar, (tucked jaeger), aerial high to low transition, front tuck dismount.
Beam
Iasiello
Mount unknown, back handspring walkout, layout stepout, pike jump, straddle jump with turn, switch split leap, straddle jump with turn, pirouette, full front twist off the end of the beam.
Morgan
Mount unknown, switch split leap, pirouette, back handspring walkout, one handed back handspring walkout, split jump, back tuck jump into straddle of the beam, RO, 1 1/2 twist off end of the beam.
Collins
Mount unknown…(aerial roundoff), RO?, sheep jump, pirouette, split jump, tuck jump with turn, front 1 1/2 twist off end of the beam?.
Rut
(Did not see routine.)
Mirando
Mounts to middle of the beam, pirouette, back tuck, back tuck, switch split leap, straddle jump, straddle jump, front walkover, switch split into side split, back pike dismount.
Galow
Mount to middle of the beam, back handspring walkout, layout stepout, switch split leap, tuck jump with turn, pirouette, split jump, back tuck, split jump with turn, RO into back 2 twists off end of the beam.
?
… tuck jump with turn, switch split leap, straddle jump, jump to the beam. pirouette, gainer full twist off the side of the beam.
Petit (partial)
…split jump, straddle jump, straddle jump with turn, back pike dismount.
Floor
Shannon Cain (Large clashing orchestral fanfare theme.)
Wolf full, straddle full.
Tumbling Pass 1: round off, back handspring, double back tuck.
Tumbling Pass 2: front handspring*, front layout, front pike.
Switch split leap. Wolf full. Pirouette.
Tumbling Pass 3: round off, back handspring, 1 1/2 twist.
Stephanie Morgan (Country Rockish music)
Tumbling Pass 1: front handspring*, full twist, front tuck. (or front pike?)(or front layout)
Valdez, wolf jump with turn.
Tumbling Pass 2: round off, back layout, 1 1/2 twist.
Strug, wolf jump with full turn. Back walkover into sit,
pirouette.
Tumbling Pass 3: round off, back handspring, 1 1/2 twist, front tuck.
Breanna Collins
Tumbling Pass 1: roundoff, back layout, 1 1/2 twist.
Tumbling Pass 2: Front 1 1/2 twist, bhs walkout, back layout.
Pirouette, wolf with turn, switch split into ring jump, Strug, tuck jump with turn.
Tumbling Pass 3: Full front twist.
Some sort of jump.
Ravin Iasiello (Medium paced country theme.)
Tumbling Pass 1: roundoff, back handspring, 1 1/2 twists.
Tumbling Pass 2: front handspring*, 1 1/2 twists.
Tumbling Pass 3: front handspring*, full twist, front pike.
Lorraine Galow (Slow theme. Latin based. Invokes some instruments I am not too familiar with but believe are South American in origin. Speed builds through the piece, also a drum beat.)
Tumbling Pass 1: roundoff, back handspring, back handspring, double back tuck or pike.
Tumbling Pass 2: front handspring*, front layout, front layout.
Switch split into ring jump, strug.
Tumbling Pass 3: roundoff, back handspring, 2 twists.
Yvette Mirando (Medium paced, hard to classify theme…)
Tumbling Pass 1: Front tuck, roundoff, back handspring, double back tuck.
Spin, wolf with turn, side split. Straddle jump with turn.
Tumbling Pass 2: roundoff, back handspring, double back pike.
Switch split leap.
or Split into side split, straddle jump with turn, Switch split leap. Tumbling Pass 3: roundoff, back handspring, 2 twists.
Carissa Huggins
Tumbling Pass 1: front handspring*, FULL TWIST, FRONT PIKE.
Tumbling Pass 2: ROUND OFF, 1 1/2 TWIST, FRONT TUCK.
Tumbling Pass 3: ROUND OFF, BACK HANDSPRING, 2 TWISTS.
Kelsey Fox?
Tumbling Pass 1: front handspring*, full twist, front tuck. (or pike?)
straddle jump, straddle jump with turn.
Tumbling Pass 2: round off, 1/2 twist, front pike. (or front layout, front layout?)
Tumbling Pass 3: front handspring*, full twist.
Katherine Reitz?
Tumbling Pass 1: round off, back handspring, 1 1/2 twist, front layout. (or 1/2 twist, full twist?)
Straddle jump with full turn, wolf jump with full turn.
Tumbling Pass 2: round off, 1/2 twist, full twist.
Pirouette, straddle jump, straddle jump with full turn.
Tumbling Pass 3: front handspring*, full twist.
Jamie DePaola
Spin move.
Tumbling Pass 1: roundoff, back handspring, double back pike.
Split jump (maybe switch split), wolf with turn.
Tumbling Pass 2: front handspring*, front layout, front layout. (or pike?)
Strug, tuck jump with turn. OR Butterfly, wolf jump with full turn. Pirouette.
Tumbling Pass 3: roundoff, back handspring, 2 twists.
roundoff, double stag,
Sara Doody?
P1:?
P2: RO, BHS, 1 1/2 twist?
P3: RO, 1/2 twist, front tuck.

Floor Music 2007-2008
(Tentative, I’m still double checking.)
Cain? (Clashing fanfare.)
Morgan (Seems country rockish. )
Collins (fast drum beats)(
Iasiello (Medium paced country theme.)
Galow “Nour el Ain” – World Music – (Slow theme, but speed builds through the piece.)
Mirando “Beautiful Liar” – Pop – (Medium paced)
Huggins (We will rock you, eye of the tiger.)
Reitz “Irna” with a smattering of drums mixed in especially at the end.
Fox “Save a horse…” followed by “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”
DePaola uses “Daddy DJ”