After starting the season 0-6, the Lemurs, the boy’s varsity gymnastics team, faced off against Tottenville High School in their last competition of the season on February 15. With strong performances by juniors Eli Bierman and Andrew Sang, the Lemurs defeated another winless team at the Stuyvesant gymnasium, and picked up their first win since February 16, 2006—almost exactly two years ago. “[The win] was important for the guys. We struggled this year. We pulled it off,” coach Naim Kozi said after the meet.
The Lemurs excelled in the floor exercise and vaulting events where they scored 41.8 of their total points. Their total score of 95.9 turned out to be a season high, against Tottenville’s score of 86.9. Eli Bierman and Andrew Sang had high scores, with Sang scoring an 8.0 in the floor exercise and Bierman scoring 7.9 in vaulting. Both gymnasts achieved season bests. “We are a lot better now than we were at the beginning of the year,” Bierman said.
The Lemurs struggled early in the season with six straight competition losses. “It’s tough having a lot of juniors, with guys preparing for the SAT and college,” Kozi said. The Lemurs have nine juniors out of 13 total gymnasts who have competed this year and look forward to being more of a contender next year. “We could be a legitimate contender, probably a second or third place,” Kozi added.
Although the Lemurs’ 1-6 record did not qualify them for the team championships on February 28, Bierman and Sang did qualify for the PSAL Individual and All Around Championship, which will be hosted at Roberto Clemente State Park on March 4. Both Lemurs will be competing after Sang qualified for the floor exercise event and Bierman qualified for the all-around competition with combined scores from all the events. “I think I can do alright. I’m just glad I made it,” Bierman said.
Following the Individual Championship, the Lemurs will have nothing but to look forward to next season. “We have no seniors graduating, so we should be doing a lot better next year,” Kozi said. With a considerable number of returning athletes, the Lemurs look to have a more successful season next year, when many other schools will have lost some of their top players.
