BBW gymnastics shut out of state, first-year coach finds positives

Hegemann excited to bring back most varsity performers next season

By Mike Ramczyk

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Did you know the basketball great Michael Jordan once returned after taking a year off to the game he loves, only to have his Chicago Bulls upset in the second round?

This was the same Bulls squad that won three straight NBA championships with the best player on the planet leading the way.

Greatness doesn’t last forever, and the Burlington/Badger/Wilmot/Union Grove experienced that reality Feb. 25 at the Waukesha Sectional.

The Demons’ score of 133.125 and fifth-place finish meant it wouldn’t be traveling to team state for the first

time this decade. Also, it’s the first time Burlington hasn’t had any representation at state since 2004.

The same squad that boasted a string of four straight state runner-up finishes with the likes of Molly Benavide, Jenna Fitzpatrick and Bailey Fitzpatrick defined a rebuilding, learning season in 2015-16.

But after the meet at Waukesha West High School, several athletes were already talking about winning state next year. They hinted at getting back to work in the gym this week to begin building for redemption in 2017.

That attitude is the exact sentiment first-year coach Andrea Hegemann, who was an assistant for all those state trips, hoped to cultivate when she took over.

“We’re not sending anyone to state, but our season was way more than anyone expected,” Hegemann said after the sectional. “The girls are happy with it.”

“This season was a lot more than I ever dreamed of. The stress of daily practices, fundraisers and the little things, we were the underdogs this year. To come out and get a 140 and win conference was huge. They were no longer the fill-ins for Bailey and Molly. They worked their butts off to make names for themselves.”

Despite vast inexperience with one senior, Burlington found a way to score a 140, took second at the prestigious Spartan Invite in Madison and held off a solid Waterford team to win a seventh consecutive Southern Lakes Conference championship.

Hegemann said this group has a good foundation of skills and hard work, and next year could be much more successful in terms of state chances.

“After our last event was done, they were already making offseason goals,” Hegemann said. “They have a lot of determination right now, and I hope it turns into hard work in the offseason.”

“I want them to come back ready to go.”