The Schreiber gymnastics season has yet to start, but the team is hard at work preparing for their first match on Dec. 17 against Great Neck North.  After a decent season last year in which the team went 6-4, they will be facing many of the same opponents.  The team remained in Conference 1 of Nassau County, consisting of Bethpage, Hicksville, Massapequa, Oceanside, Plainview, Sewanhaka, South Side, Syosset, and Wantagh.  In their four losses to Bethpage, Oceanside, South Side, and Plainview, they were within seven points of winning on each occasion.  With the improvements being made to the team with new members and lots more practice, the team has a chance to have a great season.

As this season begins, the team has high hopes for a great season.  They believe they can outdo their finish in eighth place last year.

“This season we are hoping to move up in the conference and place higher as a team in the county finals meet where we came in 8th last year.  We lost some very good seniors but we have a bigger team this year with a lot of new talented girls who can make the team even stronger,” said junior Phoebe Christake.

The team did lose a few seniors, but now there are many new freshmen who recently joined the team, and many others have lots more experience than before.  They have been steadily improving over the past years, in which they moved up an entire conference, and have hopes to take home the title this season.

“This year we have a lot of girls with experience on club teams and we’re working and focusing more on our strength and endurance.  Over the past two years we have moved up an entire conference, and have had more and more girls make it to the state qualifier meet each time,” said junior Lola Lichtenstien.  “This year we are hoping to move up our spot in the county championship and dramatically raise our scores.”

The team is only going to get better.  The team has great confidence for the upcoming season, and for good reason.

Last winter, the gymnastics team began with a blazing hot start, winning five of their first six matches.  At the end, they began struggling, only winning one of their last four.  The team has been working on their strength and endurance in order to stay strong at the end of the season.  They have worked on this in practice often.  Also, a majority of the team members improved on their own, participating in club teams or with personal trainers.  The team has great chemistry, which gives them a great advantage over some of the other teams.  Compared to last season, the team is much improved.  Overall, the team has the prospects of a great season.

The season ends on Feb. 4, with a home meet against Wantagh.  Their schedule is extremely similar to last year’s.  The team believes that with improvements, they should be able to improve on last year’s record of 6-4.