Junior Heather Zaniewski is the second gymnast in a row to win the
Eastern Collegiate Athetic Conference Coaches’ Choice Award for the Owls. The team captain followed her fellow teammate sophomore Taylor Rakus, who won the award the previous week.

In the team’s meet last Saturday at Pittsburgh, Zaniewski, competing
on the balance beam, smashed her foot during the routine. She was then
consequentially taken out of her next event (vault) because of the
injury.

Later, when Temple was in a desperate need for points, coach Aaron
Murphy sent Zaniewski out to compete in her routine on bars.

The team captain went out and nailed her routine on bars without any restraint from her nagging foot injury. She posted a team best score of 9.550 on the apparatus and was awarded with the ECAC coaches’ Choice Award for her performance through the pain.

Looking forward to the Owls’ next meet, Saturday at New Hampshire at 4
p.m., Murphy says that he expects Zaniewski to be in the lineup and
ready to compete.

-Samuel Matthews