Central Michigan University Athletics
Gymnastics Opens MAC Action at Western Michigan.
1/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
MOUNT PLEASANT The start of Mid-American Conference action is on tap for the Central Michigan University gymnastics team this weekend as the Chippewas head to Western Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 1 p.m.
The Maroon and Gold stand at 2-0 on the season after picking up a victory at Utah State last weekend.
“This weekend is important because we want to get off to a solid start in the MAC,” CMU head coach Jerry Reighard said. “I know we have a team that can perform well in the conference this year and one of our goals in to win the conference regular season title. Western is a solid team with good athletes that has been dealing with a lot of injuries lately. Our depth is going to be critical in this meet.”
One thing that has become clear through the first two meets is CMU will rely heavily on its seniors this season. In last week’s meet, senior Vanessa Rodriguez won bars, while Kyla Krygier scored a career-high on bars and Jessica Neel finished second in the all-around.
“I have always believed that seniors are critical and this group have been really good this season,” Reighard said. “I thought their performances last weekend really set the tone for the entire team and we need that out of our seniors. I think one of the best things about them is their drive to get better every week and the younger gymnasts follow that example.”
One of the goals this weekend for the squad is putting together four solid events. In the first two meets, CMU has excelled on two events while posting average scores on the other two events.
“We have the talent and depth on every event to post a great score, it is just a matter of us being more consistent,” Reighard said. “We have been pretty team-oriented all week in practice because one of our goal for this weekend is a 194 and we can only do that if everyone hits. We can’t continue to count falls and also reach our goals this year.”
One big difference this year compared to last is how CMU’s addition depth has made spots in the line-up much more difficult to come by.
“The competition for line-up spots this year has really created a healthy environment in practice,” Reighard said. “Last year, we are had a couple time when we had just enough healthy athletes to fill out a line-up. Now, we have people challenging for spots every day, which is better because people have to perform under pressure every day, not just during meets. I think that makes competition easier because they are used to the pressure.”
The Maroon and Gold stand at 2-0 on the season after picking up a victory at Utah State last weekend.
“This weekend is important because we want to get off to a solid start in the MAC,” CMU head coach Jerry Reighard said. “I know we have a team that can perform well in the conference this year and one of our goals in to win the conference regular season title. Western is a solid team with good athletes that has been dealing with a lot of injuries lately. Our depth is going to be critical in this meet.”
One thing that has become clear through the first two meets is CMU will rely heavily on its seniors this season. In last week’s meet, senior Vanessa Rodriguez won bars, while Kyla Krygier scored a career-high on bars and Jessica Neel finished second in the all-around.
“I have always believed that seniors are critical and this group have been really good this season,” Reighard said. “I thought their performances last weekend really set the tone for the entire team and we need that out of our seniors. I think one of the best things about them is their drive to get better every week and the younger gymnasts follow that example.”
One of the goals this weekend for the squad is putting together four solid events. In the first two meets, CMU has excelled on two events while posting average scores on the other two events.
“We have the talent and depth on every event to post a great score, it is just a matter of us being more consistent,” Reighard said. “We have been pretty team-oriented all week in practice because one of our goal for this weekend is a 194 and we can only do that if everyone hits. We can’t continue to count falls and also reach our goals this year.”
One big difference this year compared to last is how CMU’s addition depth has made spots in the line-up much more difficult to come by.
“The competition for line-up spots this year has really created a healthy environment in practice,” Reighard said. “Last year, we are had a couple time when we had just enough healthy athletes to fill out a line-up. Now, we have people challenging for spots every day, which is better because people have to perform under pressure every day, not just during meets. I think that makes competition easier because they are used to the pressure.”
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