Central Michigan University Athletics
Gymnastics Looks To Repeat As MAC Champs
3/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
March 17, 2004
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THIS WEEK - The Central Michigan University gymnastics team (15-3, 6-0 Mid-American Conference) will welcome the rest of the Mid-American Conference to Rose Arena on Friday, March 19, for the MAC Championship meet.
The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
The Chippewas are the top seed entering the meet after going undefeated in MAC contests for the second straight season. CMU had first pick of rotation order and chose to take bye I in the first rotation followed by vault, bye II, bars, bye III, beam and floor.
CMU is the defending MAC champions and will be looking for its 10th title in school history.
THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT- "This is going to be a very competitive meet," said head coach Jerry Reighard. "Every athlete, both ours and other teams', are going to have more pressure on them than I have seen in several years. Several teams have the capability to win.
"Being at home is a huge advantage for us. Having the No. 1 seed is also a big advantage. It is one thing to compete at home, but to also compete in Olympic order is great. The ability to finish on floor, which is our best event, is great for us."
MAC CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW - The Chippewas enter the MAC Championship as the favorite, but only slightly.
Even though CMU ran the table in the conference there are a few teams that are on the Chippewas' heels and could capitalize on a CMU mistake.
Kent State is the Chippewas' most notable foe. The Golden Flashes and CMU have combined to win 15 of the past 16 MAC Championships.
KSU is ranked No. 26 in the country and has posted the MAC's top score of the season at 197.050. The Chippewas' top score this year was 196.225, but CMU defeated the Golden Flashes in their only meeting of the season, 196.050-195.525, in Mount Pleasant.
Bowling Green enters the postseason tourney as the third seed after going 3-3 in the MAC. The Falcons have posted the third-best score in the conference, 195.900.
Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Ball State will also challenge for the title. Each team, excluding Ball State, has scored 195 at one point in the season and is capable of repeating that feat.
The preseason coaches poll picked Kent State to win the regular season and CMU to finish second, but selected the Chippewas to win the postseason meet.
LAST WEEK - CMU wrapped up its second straight undefeated conference season and Mid-American Conference regular season title with a win over Western Michigan on Friday evening.
The Chippewas dominated the meet from start to finish and closed with a 195.975-193.675 victory over the Broncos.
Sara Burtinsky led the way for CMU, taking first in three events and second in another. She was tops in the all-around competition with a score of 39.400. She took first on the bars (9.875) and beam (9.925) and finished second on the floor with a 9.875.
Freshman Jules Passy had one of the best days in her short career. She scored a career-high 39.125 in the all-around competition, good enough for second place. Passy also took second on the vault with a tally of 9.825. She had a career-high 9.850 on the beam and tied her career high with a 9.875 on the floor.
Kara Reighard won the floor exercise for the seventh time this season with a 9.925. Mattie Crawford also performed well for the Chippewas, scoring a 9.800 on the beam and 9.850 on the floor.
CMU picked up the win by scoring over 48.600 on every event. The Chippewas had 48.825 on the vault, 48.675 on the bars, 49.100 on the beam and 49.375 on the floor.
COMPETITIVE NATURE - "It was a difficult meet for us," said Reighard of the WMU win. "We had a lot at stake with the undefeated season and a chance at regionals. It weighed on our minds a lot.
"The team showed its competitive nature and I am proud of them."
GOING FOR THREE - Junior Kara Reighard is looking to win the MAC all-around title for the third year in-a-row at the this weekend's championship meet.
Reighard won the title in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns. No one in conference history has won the all-around crown three straight years.
As well as defending her all-around title, Reighard will be looking to repeat as champion on the floor and vault.
BURTINSKY'S BEAMING - Sara Burtinsky has had a breakout season for CMU and is the favorite to win the beam at the championship meet on Friday.
Burtinsky has the top Regional Qualifying Score in the MAC at 9.910 and took first on the beam in five of the Chippewas' six conference meets.
STREAKING TO VICTORY -CMU has won 16 straight competitions at home, with its last loss coming against Eastern Michigan in 2001.
The Chippewas also have won 25 straight times that they have faced a MAC opponent. The last time the Maroon and Gold suffered defeat to a conference foe was at the 2002 MAC Championship to Ball State.
