Freshmen and Fichter Look to Rebuild Hornets

If anyone knows about patience, dedication and hard work paying off, it's Hinsdale South's new gymnastics coach Jennifer Fichter.

Fichter walked her way on the University of Illinois gymnastics team in the late 1990s. By the time she was a senior, Fichter was named a team captain as well as the Illini's Most Valuable Performer.

This year's Hornets team likely will have to take a similar unhurried approach toward success. The team is extremely young with a varsity roster loaded with freshmen.

While freshmen gymnasts have entered the high school scene and made a huge impact in the past, that isn't to be expected from the Hornets, who instead will look to make gradual strides in the hopes of returning the program to where it was as recently as 2007. Then, Hinsdale South won its third straight West Suburban Conference Gold Division championship.

Hinsdale South opened its season by hosting the Hornets Gymnastics Invitational on Nov. 24. The Hornets closed with a team total of 114.270 and finished in eighth place out of eight teams.

"It was a good start for the girls in their first high school meet," Fichter said. "They didn't know what to expect until they got out there and now they can move forward."

It's a perfect brand-new start for the Hornets with a team filled with newcomers being coach by a newbie.

Fichter is by no means new to coaching though, as this is her ninth season of teaching high school gymnasts. She spent five years leading Homewood-Flossmoor and was an assistant coach for perennial power Fremd before landing the gig in Darien.

"I'm trying to rebuild the program to where it was before," Fichter said. "My goal when I was hired is to ensure the program does the best that it can in conference and anything we do in the state series would be a bonus."

In a way, Fichter hopes to see her team take baby steps this season as freshmen in hopes of being successful four-year gymnasts who continue to progress each winter.

"I came into college as a walk-on. There were 15 of us and only two walk-ons, so  I had to work my way into the lineup," she said. "They're now trying to prove themselves here and learning that they, too, can be successful in the end."

Freshmen all-arounders Taylor Daley, Jessica Hawken and Maria Manolis are expected to be the most seasoned of the bunch this winter, while senior Kenzie Stednitz will serve as a bars and vault specialist or all-arounder.

After that, Fichter isn't sure how things will turn out, although Samantha Armstrong, Shur Batmunkh, Jorie Smith, Rachel Steinhaus and Rhiannon Turner are just a handful of gymnasts who have entered the lineup during the first couple weeks.

Hinsdale South lost state qualifiers Paula Rante (graduation) and Alyssa Fatigati (cheerleading).

"I've seen improvement in the first couple meets already," Fichter said. "I expect them to notice improvement and move forward. So far, it's been nice. They're stepping up, becoming leaders and getting a lot done."

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