After seeing wins in its first two competitions against Lake Washington and Liberty, the Mercer Island gymnastics team suffered its first loss of the season Thursday, Dec. 18, falling to Interlake at Interlake High School. The Saints topped out with a score of 146.1 to Mercer Island’s 140.2.

Interlake had the top three all-around finishers, with Frankie Paszkeicz placing first with a score of 32.4. Paszkeicz dominated the competition, topping every event for the Saints, winning vault, bars, beam and floor.

Catherine Seifert was Mercer Island’s top all-around finisher, placing fourth with a score of 31. Seifert tied for second on bars with Interlake’s Amy Yeung and Manon Frevol, placed fourth on beam, took fifth on floor and placed second on vault.

Rounding out the top five in all-around was Mercer Island’s Rachel Hicks with a score of 27.7. Hicks placed fifth on bars, took seventh on beam, placed seventh on floor and tied for third with Interlake’s Yeung on vault.

Other Mercer Island top five finishers included Stephanie Prince placing second on floor, Emily Greaves tying for fifth on beam and Emily Culbertson tying for fifth on vault

After hearing the results Thursday night, Mercer Island coach Lenny Lewis said a loss was kind of expected, noting the Islanders’ struggles staying on beam.

“We didn’t drop below 140, which I was hoping. We just have to step it up on bars, and we could’ve done better on beam,” he said.

Lewis said by this point in the season he was hoping to see bigger stunts from his team on bars, an area that was a concern last season and will continue to be a focal point for this year.

But overall, Lewis felt positive about his team through three meets.

“I like what we’re doing. I like the progression we’re making, but we’ll see how things go. I’m looking for more of an improvement, but it’s small,” he said. “I didn’t think we had as much talent as we have and so with what’s happening so far, I’m really pleased.”

Above left, Rachel Hicks performs her beam routine Thursday, Dec. 18 at Interlake (photo by Joseph Livarchik).