Central Michigan University
Ball State
Gymnastics Topples Ball State, 192.375-186.800
2/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Feb. 19, 2006
MOUNT PLEASANT - The Central Michigan University gymnastics team bounced back from a disappointing loss last weekend with a resounding victory over Ball State this afternoon, beating the Cardinals 192.375-186.800. CMU evened its record at 2-2 in the Mid-American Conference, 4-5 overall, while Ball State falls to 1-4 in the MAC, 1-7 on the season.
"This meet was a great confidence builder for us," CMU head coach Jerry Reighard said. "We needed to recover from last week (a loss to Eastern Michigan), and I felt that we did that today. On every event except for balance beam, the fans saw today what we as coaches see every day in practice. That's the type of consistency we need to be successful."
CMU opened the meet on the vault and put together a solid team total of 48.250 on the event. Senior Mattie Crawford once again led the way on vault for the Chippewas, winning the event for the second straight meet with a 9.850. Teammate Sheena Smith posted the second-best score of 9.800. With Ball State struggling on its opening event, the uneven bars, CMU grabbed a whopping three-and-a-half point edge after the first rotation.
The Chippewas moved to the bars and hit six solid routines, posting their highest team total of the season at 48.350. Junior Sheena Smith anchored the bar lineup and won the event with a great routine that scored a 9.850. Jules Passy was second on bars with a 9.650, while freshman Michelle Lopez made her debut for CMU and scored a very strong 9.625 on her routine. All six CMU gymnasts bettered the top Ball State score of 9.550, by Lauren West, on the bars.
"We really rebounded nicely on bars from last week at EMU," Reighard said. "Sheena had a great performance, her best of the season. Michelle was a big spark leading off for us on that event. She really earned that position with her work all week in practice, and she came up in a pressure situation leading the lineup and was great. It's the first time this season we've hit all our routines on the first two events, and it was really exciting to see that."
CMU struggled with falls on the beam for the second week in a row, with four of its six gymnasts tumbling off. Sophomore Danielle Espinoza and freshman Jessica Neel led the way for the Chippewas, posting a 9.800 and 9.750 respectively. Espinoza's mark won the event, while Neel's was a career-best on beam. After three rotations, CMU held a lead of almost three points, 143.575-140.650 heading into its last event, the floor exercise.
The Chippewas posted their second-best mark of the season on floor, totaling 48.800. Espinoza set a career-high with a 9.875 to garner a second individual event win, with Crawford's 9.775 and Neel's 9.750 just behind. Stephanie Langley's 9.725 gave CMU four scores of 9.700 or better on floor for the second time this season.
CMU will return to action this Friday, Feb. 24 when it hosts rival Kent State for a key conference clash. The meet begins at 7:30 p.m. at Rose Arena. The Chippewas will then travel to Lincoln, Neb. to compete at the Masters Classic, hosted by the University of Nebraska, on Sunday, Feb. 26.
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