Gymnastics Strives for ECAC Medal Stand

The gymnastics team is coming off of its best performance of the season and it could not have picked a better time to hit its stride. With the ECAC championships this weekend in Williamsburg, Va., there is a strong sense of confidence among the team.
“We definitely feel a lot more confident going into this weekend,” said sophomore Molly Parker. “Right now we’re only improving, we’re right there with all of the other teams, the championship is really up for grabs.”
[img_assist|nid=29204|title=The right angle|desc=Freshman Danielle Scott (above) and the gymnastics team hope to vault to the top from its current second-place spot tomorrow at the ECAC championships.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
Although they finished third in a quad meet against Pittsburgh, Temple and North Carolina, Cornell recorded its season-high point total with a score of 192.00. For the gymnasts, closely competing with nationally-ranked teams in Pittsburgh and North Carolina helped prove to themselves that they have the ability to compete with anybody.
“If we keep everything together,” said freshman Danielle Scott, “we definitely know that we can win.”
The team currently sits in second place in the ECAC, trailing only Towson, whom Cornell has lost to twice this season. William and Mary, Yale, Rhode Island, Temple, Pennsylvania and Brown will all be competing in the championships as well.
With its consistent improvement throughout the season, the team is eager to compete against Towson, along with the rest of the ECAC, one more time to prove that they belong on top.
“We’re excited because we really want to prove to ourselves that we can win,” Parker said. “We’re only getting better, we all know we have a good chance, we can definitely prove that we’re the best in the ECAC.”
Despite its confidence after its best performance of the season last weekend, the Red is being sure to keep its emotions in check. Although it has accomplished a lot this season, there is still work to be done.
“We are all feeling confident about the ECAC championships,” said freshman Irene Leung, “but we still know that we have a lot of room for improvement.”
Despite the greater magnitude of its upcoming competition, the team is approaching everything with the same routine that it has had throughout the entire season. The team’s main focus is to improve in any way that it can just as it always does.
“In general, this week has been pretty similar to the way that we have trained all season,” Parker said. “We’re approaching the meet the same way as always, focusing on both our individual performances and as a team as a whole.”
However, there is definitely a sense of added pressure and intensity.
“That being said,” continued Parker, “because it is later in the year we are more focused. We’re working extra hard to improve on our past performances. We know we can win.”