Meghan Sinisi was nine years old when she first twirled fire.
Nearly 10 years later, standing before a crowd in front of Carnegie Library on the Syracuse University Quad on April 11, Sinisi throws three flaming batons high above her head.
And a few moments later she catches them, one after another.
Applause erupts from administrators and students, there to attend Chancellor Kent Syverud’s inauguration.
She twirls and spins. The crowd can’t seem to take their eyes off of her. Young girls point at her.
She is the Orange Girl.
The Orange Girl is a tradition grounded in SU history, dating back to Sept. 26, 1947.
Called “100 Men and a Girl,” the act made its debut in Archbold Stadium to premiere the new head drum majorette and fire baton twirler. To this day, the SU Marching Band performs with one featured twirler, appropriately named The Orange Girl.
Now, The Orange Girl is an 18-year old SU freshman from Altoona, Pa. Although currently undeclared, she is a looking to become a communication and sciences disorders major and someday earn a master’s degree in speech pathology.
Her mother, Lori, is surprised she doesn’t have more broken windows in her home.
“Before she went to college, winters were rough because Meghan couldn’t practice outdoors,” Lori said. “So batons were always twirling, hitting the ceiling and walls.”
Lori twirled as a young girl, and regrets leaving the sport. When her former twirling coach Pam Maierhofer came back into town, Lori entered her 4-year-old daughter into twirling lessons at TheShowTwirlers twirling studio.
Sinisi was 16 years old when she first threw knives.
She claims the movement of throwing knives — a performance component she has showcased in Quad shows and football games — holds the same requirements as baton twirling: hand-eye coordination and rapid body movement.
Tucked away in the fencing room of Archbold Gymnasium, Sinisi practices these motions for 10–15 hours per week. She is capable of catching up to three batons in her left hand, her right hand, behind her back, between her legs and on her neck.
Sinisi does not have a coach at school, so she relies on the mirrored walls of the fencing room. She also records her practices on her phone to play back for review.
“I love the feeling of being nervous before a performance because afterwards I feel so accomplished,” Sinisi said. “I have aspired to twirl in front of thousands since I was a little girl. So it’s truly a dream come true each and every time I run out onto the field.”
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Debbie Bernhart, Sinisi’s coach, recently got a call from the grandmother of one of her twirling students. For a class assignment, the 10-year old girl wrote a letter about someone she admires most.
Bernhart was not surprised to learn it was Sinisi, whom she admired for her strong work ethic.
Bernhart started teaching twirling as an assistant at the age of 14, and has been training young girls for more than 50 years. She has been training Sinisi for the past six years.
Bernhart describes Sinisi as a hard worker, perfectionist and a role model for the younger girls who train at her studio, where Sinisi assists.
She recounts the recent Christmas party, which Sinisi attended wearing her Orange Girl uniform.
An actor dressed as Santa Claus also attended — but, the group of young girls was far more interested in Sinisi.
“It was hysterical,” Bernhart said, laughing at the memory.
Justin Mertz has witnessed Sinisi’s supposedly sharp tongue. The two admit to partaking in mutual banter.
“The first time she said a snarky comment, I remember thinking, ‘did that come from the quiet girl from Pennsylvania?’”
The director of the SU Marching Band first met Sinisi in his office in Crouse College on April 15, 2013. Sinisi came with both her mother and her father.
“During the audition, it was obvious she was qualified,” he said. “I was sold immediately.”
In his nine years as director of the marching band, Mertz has encountered three Orange Girls.
“But Meghan is by far the most fearless twirler,” Mertz said. “This little girl is afraid of nothing.”
Now, Sinisi is preparing for the regional championships in June, where she will compete to individually qualify for national championships. If she competes in nationals, she will represent SU collegiately.
“The most important thing to me is representing Syracuse well at competition. After that comes making all of the previous Orange Girls proud and continuing a long tradition, then comes winning,” Sinisi said. “I work hard to improve myself and my twirling and make my position at SU well known, but I hope that all my hard work pays off just as much as it has so far by holding a twirling title as Syracuse’s Orange Girl.”
Published on April 22, 2014 at 2:08 am
