Central Michigan University Athletics
Gymnastics To Compete In Michigan Classic
2/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Feb. 3, 2004
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THIS WEEK < the="" central="" michigan="" university="" gymnastics="" squad="" (5-2,="" 1-0="" mid-american="" conference)="" will="" attempt="" to="" garner="" bragging="" rights="" in="" the="" state="" of="" michigan="" at="" the="" michigan="" classic="" this="">
The meet will feature competition from the four other Division I gymnastics programs in the state, -- Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.
This year, the event will take place at Michigan?s Crisler Arena and will begin at 8 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 6.
BIG MEET < his="" will="" be="" a="" big="" meet="" for="" us,?="" said="" head="" coach="">Jerry Reighard of the Michigan Classic. ?It will be the second time that we face MSU and will also go up against two MAC opponents. This will be a meet where we can really gauge ourselves.
?It is within our team to win this meet it is just a matter of which team shows up for us.?
SCOUTING THE MICHIGAN CLASSIC ? The competition at the Michigan Classic on Friday will be some of the toughest CMU has faced all season for two reasons: one, because the five teams have all posted solid scores this season and two, because they all want the bragging rights that come with this meet.
Michigan is the top-rated team heading into Friday?s competition. It is ranked 17th in the country with an average score of 195.781 and posted a 197.075 last week versus Michigan State.
The Wolverines are in the top 25 in every event, No. 7 on beam, No. 16 on floor, No. 19 on the vault and No. 21 on the bars.
Michigan State will be looking for revenge after the Chippewas defeated them on Jan. 18 in Mount Pleasant, 193.975-193.025.
The Spartans have improved since that early season matchup, posting a 195.250 last week in a loss to the Wolverines.
Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan have struggled so far this season.
The Eagles are 1-2 both overall and in the conference. Their record isn?t too strong, but they have scored over 192 in three of their contests.
The Broncos are yet to pick up a victory this season, going 0-5. They have faced some tough competition, No. 17 Arizona and No. 10 Louisiana State, and dropped a close match to Northern Illinois, 193.200-193.150.
MICHIGAN CLASSIC HISTORY ? This year?s Michigan Classic will be the thirteenth in the competition?s history that began in 1991.
The Wolverines and Spartans have dominated the competition, with each winning six times.
The only team other than MSU or UM to win the event was the Chippewas in 1999. That year the competition took place in Ann Arbor, the site of this year?s meet.
CMU finished second to the Spartans last season. The Chippewas notched a score of 194.900 to MSU?s 195.075.
Jerry Reighard?s teams have taken fourth seven times, third three times, second twice and first once.
LAST WEEK ? With a solid score on the floor exercise in the final rotation, CMU grabbed a come-from-behind victory over MAC-foe Ball State on Sunday afternoon, 192.300-191.925.
The Chippewas trailed by a score of 145-143.075 heading into the final rotation that placed CMU on the floor and the Cardinals on the beam. The home team had four routines of 9.850 or better to earn a score of 49.225 while BSU struggled to a 46.920 on the beam.
Juniors Sara Burtinsky and Kara Reighard led the way for the Chippewas.
Burtinsky grabbed the top spot in the all-around (39.275) and beam (9.925) while Reighard took first on the floor (9.950) and vault (9.850).
CMU jumped out to an early lead after the first rotation, 48.700-48.075, but fell behind after having four falls on the bars.
LEARNING THE ROPES ? ?I hope that this meet was a learning experience for us,? said Reighard. ?We had some distractions that got into our head.
?The fact that we pulled out the win shows the competitive spirit that this team has.?
WERE STREAKING ? With their comeback win over Ball State on Sunday, the Chippewas kept a couple of different win streaks alive.
It was CMU?s 13th straight victory over a MAC opponent after going undefeated, 12-0, last season.
BSU was the last conference team to defeat CMU, it did so at the 2002 MAC Championships.
The Chippewas also upped their home win streak to 14 in-a-row. CMU has not suffered defeat in Rose Arena since 2001.
LOW SCORE, BIG WIN ? The Chippewas? point total of 192.300 versus Ball State on Sunday was their lowest tally in almost two years.
The last time CMU posted a lower score was at the Michigan Classic in 2002 when they scored 191.300 points. The Chippewas finished in fourth place out of the five teams competing in that meet.
The score versus the Cardinals also snapped CMU?s streak of 25 straight meets of 193 points or higher.
