Freshman Pisani, Razorbacks look to rebound
Gymnastics
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 2/13/09 Section: Sports
Freshman gymnast Jaime Pisani said she learned early about forgetting mistakes. In her first collegiate meet, Pisani made a mistake but said she has learned from that early experience.
"I felt confident," Pisani said. "But I made a mistake. I didn't think about it during the next meet, and I ended up doing good. That confidence has definitely grown."
And others have noticed.
"In classes, people say, 'you are doing so good,'" Pisani said. "And I don't even know who they are. It's nice that people know me and that our team has a good reputation."
After steadily improving her scores, Pisani picked up her first all-around title in a 195.075-194.500 win over Kentucky last week, beating junior teammate Casey Jo Magee.
"It was really exciting," Pisani said. "It was unfortunate for Casey Jo to step out of bounds and not get title No. 6 in a row. But I was glad to be there and capture the title. We didn't have our greatest performances, but we stuck around until the end."
In the final rotation, Pisani helped secure the win by posting a 9.725 after watching two people fall in front of her.
"That beam rotation was a learning experience for our team," Pisani said. "We haven't had to deal with the pressure of having two people fall before. I was trying not to think about it and focus on my routine."
The Ringwood, N.J., native will look to improve on the road Friday when No. 7 Arkansas (7-2, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) faces No. 6 Auburn (3-3, 1-2 SEC) at 7 p.m.
Coming off its lowest score of the season, Pisani said the team is eager to get back into competition.
"We are ready to get back into the 196s," Pisani said. "We came in Sunday and went through our routines and did a great job hitting them. We were a little down in the last meet, so we are really prepared."
Pisani said the scoring was kind of tough throughout the meet against Kentucky.
"I hit my best floor routine of the season and didn't get my highest score," Pisani said. "We were getting a little underscored, but we were not the home team. It's good we got that out of the way."
"I felt confident," Pisani said. "But I made a mistake. I didn't think about it during the next meet, and I ended up doing good. That confidence has definitely grown."
And others have noticed.
"In classes, people say, 'you are doing so good,'" Pisani said. "And I don't even know who they are. It's nice that people know me and that our team has a good reputation."
After steadily improving her scores, Pisani picked up her first all-around title in a 195.075-194.500 win over Kentucky last week, beating junior teammate Casey Jo Magee.
"It was really exciting," Pisani said. "It was unfortunate for Casey Jo to step out of bounds and not get title No. 6 in a row. But I was glad to be there and capture the title. We didn't have our greatest performances, but we stuck around until the end."
In the final rotation, Pisani helped secure the win by posting a 9.725 after watching two people fall in front of her.
"That beam rotation was a learning experience for our team," Pisani said. "We haven't had to deal with the pressure of having two people fall before. I was trying not to think about it and focus on my routine."
The Ringwood, N.J., native will look to improve on the road Friday when No. 7 Arkansas (7-2, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) faces No. 6 Auburn (3-3, 1-2 SEC) at 7 p.m.
Coming off its lowest score of the season, Pisani said the team is eager to get back into competition.
"We are ready to get back into the 196s," Pisani said. "We came in Sunday and went through our routines and did a great job hitting them. We were a little down in the last meet, so we are really prepared."
Pisani said the scoring was kind of tough throughout the meet against Kentucky.
"I hit my best floor routine of the season and didn't get my highest score," Pisani said. "We were getting a little underscored, but we were not the home team. It's good we got that out of the way."
Be the first to comment on this story