Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Illinois State and Michigan State
Gymnastics Downs Michigan State and Illinois State
1/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Jan. 18, 2004
MOUNT PLEASANT - The Central Michigan University gymnastics team picked up two wins over Michigan State and Illinois State on Sunday afternoon in its first home meet of the season.
The Chippewas edged out the Spartans by a score of 193.975-193.025 while Illinois State scored 188.625.
CMU improved its record to 6-1 on the season.
"This is a great win for us to beat Michigan State," said head coach Jerry Reighard. "It has been about six years since they have come to Mount Pleasant and this is why."
CMU has won three of its last four meetings with MSU, dating back to last season, despite the Spartans holding a 27-6 margin in the all-time series.
The Chippewas strongest performance of the afternoon was turned in by Sara Burtinsky on the beam. She took first place with a 9.925, it was the second-best performance in school history on the beam. Burtinsky has now taken first on the beam in her first two meets of the season.
Burtinsky also tied for first on the bars with MSU's Victoria Iakounina. They both posted scores of 9.775.
Kara Reighard took first in the all-around with a score of 38.600. She also grabbed the top spot in the floor exercise (9.850) and the vault (9.775).
Jerry Reighard was not pleased after the Chippewas first two events, but CMU turned it around to post a solid team score.
"We had mediocre scores on the vault," said Reighard. "I think that we tried to push too hard on the bars to make up for it and it caused us to make a few mistakes.
"What changed our momentum was a good performance on the beam and we followed that up with solid performances on the floor."
The Chippewas return to action on Saturday, Jan. 24, when they head to Penn State for a dual meet with the Nittany Lions. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
