The Sunnyvale Sun

Sports

Cupertino back in CCS spotlight in gymnastics

By Mike Barnhart

For years Cupertino has been the lone Fremont Union High School District school to offer a gymnastics program. But, in recent years the Pioneers rarely have competed in the Central Coast Section championship meet.

A student-athlete with club gymnastics experience is a rarity, so longtime Cupertino coach Judy Namanny always has welcomed beginners and many years has fielded only a junior varsity team. But this season was different--the 2008 Pioneers were a varsity level team and they qualified for the CCS meet.

"We weren't very good, but at least we were there," said Namanny, who continues to coach at Cupertino, although she retired from her 35-year teaching career in 2006. "I've had individuals at CCS, but not a full team since the mid-1980s."

"It's not easy to qualify," the coach continued. "You need to have enough varsity-level girls so that you can put five girls in all four events, then you have to score 155 points in a meet."

Cupertino's girls did just that at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division meet May 9 in Mountain View. With seniors Kallie Glover, Melanie Sengstock and Chihiro Takahashi leading the way, along with juniors Charity Wardle and Diane Ho and freshman Jenny Chen, the Pioneers' combined efforts in the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise totaled 161 points. Junior Stephanie Dayanot and freshman Diana Nazartchouck rounded out the squad.

Cupertino placed second out of six schools at the qualifier meet, and only perennial CCS powerhouse St. Francis scored more points.

Then, at the CCS gymnastics championships, May 15 at Gymtowne in San Bruno, the Pioneers placed fifth in the team competition, behind champion St. Francis, Gunn, Tracy and Mercy-San Francisco, but ahead of Lowell-San Francisco and Burlingame. Glover placed 19th, Sengstock 26th and Chen 28th in the all-around out of 64 total competitors.

Junior Sabrina Siu, a Homestead student who trains with Namanny and the Cupertino team, placed 10th in the all-around. Freshman Evelyn Siu, her sister, finished 14th. S. Siu placed sixth on the bars and tied her sister for seventh in the vault.

Glover, who was a club gymnast in Reno before moving from Lake Tahoe to Cupertino, was a key addition.

"She really helped us this year," Namanny said of Glover.

The coach also praised Sengstock, who "joined last year as a junior and learned fast."

Cupertino graduate Liz Nguyen served as the JV coach this season.