Central Michigan University
No. 24 Eastern Michigan/Seattle Pacific
Chippewas Bust Out, Win Tri-Meet
1/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
By Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - A sigh of relief, a major confidence boost, and a much-needed shot of energy going forward.
Central Michigan won every event Saturday in topping Eastern Michigan and Seattle Pacific in a gymnastics tri-meet at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas posted a 195.875 team score in improving to 3-1 overall and, with the win over Eastern, 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference. EMU finished with 194.575, while Seattle Pacific came in at 187.250.
The win over Eastern was big, but the score - and the overall performance - even more crucial for the Chippewas considering they had turned in subpar performances in their first two meets of the season, and entered 2015 harboring legitimate hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history.
"Just a great team effort," CMU coach Jerry Reighard said. "Very pleased with the fact that we won every event. That (score is) fully where we expect to be, and I don't want that to sound conceited at all. Because that's where we need to be. This will really help us nationally, but more importantly it's going to help us within ourselves."
Not performing up to their own high standards and expectations in the first two meets had stuck in the Chippewas' craw.
"I think that it just finally clicked," said senior Halle Moraw, who won the floor exercise with a 9.9 and shared first place with a 9.8 in the vault. "We've put all this practice in and it has finally showed in competition and that's all we can ask for. We still have a lot of room to improve, but we can only go up from here."
CMU's Kylie Fagan won the uneven bars with a 9.875, while the Chippewas' Caroline Fitzpatrick and Preslee Harrald both posted a 9.825 to share first place on beam. CMU's Karlee Teet and Rachel Carr, along with Eastern's Anna Willette, finished in a four-way tie for first on vault with Moraw.
The team scores in all four rotations were season-bests for the Chippewas, a highly gratifying result considering the scores they had posted in their first two meets.
"We worked a lot all week on staying focused and not worrying about what anyone else is doing," Moraw said. "I think we did a really good job of that this week. That's what made it happen today.
"We're very focused, very motivated. There were small little mistakes that we can fix next week and be even better and get that 196-plus that we're looking for."
The Chippewas were solid to very good throughout, and the scores reflected that, affirming what Reighard said he has known all along.
"I told them before the meet, 'We had better do well tonight because I can't work you any harder than I did (in practice)' and they all laughed, but they got the point," he said. "I was kind of out of tricks. If what happened last week didn't work this week, it would have been, I think, a long season.
"To be real honest with you, I'm not surprised this week because I know what this team is capable of doing. We have to attribute the results from tonight to what the athletes did during this week. They put themselves in a hard-working situation, a pressure situation, every day. We know that pays off and it did."
The Chippewas got a boost right out of the chute, posting a 48.800 on vault. That helped pump some life into the crowd, which returned the favor. Fitzpatrick opened bars with a 9.825, and Fagan stuck her landing to end the rotation, posting her winning 9.875.
"We hadn't hit a 9.8 on vaulting in the first two meets," Reighard said. "And when that happened, you could feel it. You know, it was 'We're there.'
"Fitzpatrick (on bars), I think that really turned it over for us. And Fagan's stick on bars cemented it.
"Energy is extremely important, in any sport. The crowd that we attracted tonight was incredible. I could feel the energy coming down onto the floor especially on that first good vault. We haven't given the crowd that energy, that engine. Then we started getting a lot of CMU chants. I can't express how that makes a difference to those athletes that they're being supported. And it was there for the whole meet and that really helps."
"It's awesome, it's fun when it's like that," Fagan said of the energy in the arena. "That's what makes competing and being able to show what you have been practicing so much fun."
The Chippewas go to Ball State for a MAC meet on Friday, with a renewed sense of confidence and their eyes squarely on the future.
"As it is, we go on the road next week, and doing that on the road is going to be difficult," Reighard said. "But I think this confidence booster is really what we needed."
Players Mentioned
