CMU Gymnasts Look to Win Outright Title
3/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Hitting their stride at the optimal time.
The Central Michigan gymnastics teams goes to rival Western Michigan for a Mid-American Conference dual meet on Sunday. A win would give the Chippewas the regular-season MAC title, their first since 2012, and they would continue to ride a wave of momentum into the MAC Championships the following weekend at Kent State.
The Chippewas are ranked No. 23 in the NCAA poll after posting a 196.150 team score in winning a tri-meet at Brigham Young last weekend.
It marked the third time in their last four meets that the Chippewas have surpassed the 196 mark, which is a very good sign, coach Jerry Reighard said.
"When we came back from this meet - it was a great score, a really good performance," Reighard said, "but our team was right back in the gym on Monday. I was proud of them.
"They're hungry, they want to continue pushing. They know that no team in our conference is a pushover, and they're preparing very hard for Western.
"The team knows that this weekend is big for us. Nationally we can really improve our standings and that's really what they want to accomplish."
The Chippewas (10-4-1) got a boost, both tangibly and emotionally at BYU, with the return of senior Taylor Noonan. Noonan had missed most of the season with a knee injury. She won the balance beam with a 9.900 at BYU, sparking the Chippewas to a season-best 49.100 in the event.
"She really pressed the envelope and worked really hard to rehab so that we felt comfortable putting her back in," Reighard said. "
"I think it was important in two respects. Certainly to Taylor, she missed the Senior Day meet. It was like rubbing salt in the wound every time we were at a meet and she wasn't able to participate.
"Secondly, it was very important for our team. She is dynamic beam worker and she knows how to perform. It wasn't a surprise that she was able to post that score, but in a sense it was surprising because it was a pretty high-stakes meet for us and for her to have that kind of performance I think it really revved the team up.
"I think it adds a lot of comfort to our team to know that she's in the fifth spot and she can handle the pressure, good or bad. She's a captain for a reason and that is the reason."
Despite some early and mid-season speed bumps, the Chippewas are where Reighard had hoped - and expected - them to be on the eve of their final regular-season meet.
The biggies - the MAC Championships and the NCAA Regional - are now in the crosshairs. The Chippewas are the five-time defending MAC champions and have stated from the very beginning that their goal is to qualify - for the first time in program history - for the NCAA Championships as a team.
"This is definitely a must-weekend," Reighard said. "It's a momentum-builder and continuer.
"As a team have a had our sights on a regular-season championship from September. This is our turn. We'll find out what we're made of when we attack Western."
Players Mentioned
