Raising The Bar: Janowicz, Chippewas Aim Higher
2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Zach Libby, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Central Michigan gymnastics coach Jerry Reighard has continuously reiterated that he's grown tired of seeing his own name whenever he looks up at the wall on the west side of the Chippewas' practice gym.
It's been more than a decade since Reighard's daughter, Kara, set the program all-around record, scoring a 39.625 in the 2003 Mid-American Conference Championships.
Challenges to the record have been few and far between. The closest anyone has come to surpassing the record was Sara Burtinsky (39.600) in 2004 and Katie Simon (39.450) in 2010.
Since Simon, there hasn't been a formidable challenger. That is until a freshman walked through the doors of McGuirk Arena in early January, quickly creating waves at CMU and in the MAC.
That freshman, Kasey Janowicz, was named the MAC Gymnast of the Week after posting a 39.400 - the highest score by a league gymnast this season -- Sunday in CMU's dual win over Western Michigan.
In CMU's eight competitions this season, Janowicz has won the all-around seven times, and has scored 39.000 or better five times. Janowicz has displayed such potential in the four rotations that now it's a waiting game to see when she will etch her name in the record book.
Reighard, who is in his 32nd year as CMU's coach, said that his young gymnast will one day exceed the 13-year-old record, but doesn't expect it to occur Sunday when the Chippewas host Kent State (7 p.m.) on Senior Night, arguably the most emotional meet of the season.
"We try to take some of the emotion out of the meet by doing the (senior) presentations after it because we don't want that emotion showing during the meet," he said. "But it's an exciting time, it's something that the rest of the team rallies around, they want to send their seniors out with a win."
Top to bottom, from the veterans to the freshmen, the Chippewas know what was lost during last year's MAC Championships when the Golden Flashes edged CMU by a mere one-10th of a point, ending the Chippewas' record five-year reign.
Kent State is 6-3 overall, 4-0 MAC this season, while the Chippewas come in 11-1, 3-0. The Golden Flashes have exceeded the 196 mark three times this season, including last weekend, when they posted a season-best 196.125 in defeating Bowling Green at home.
The Chippewas' season-best is the same 196.125, which they recorded last week against Western.
"It's always a showdown between Kent and Central Michigan," Reighard said. "We try to keep our athletes in a frame of mind that we need them to perform and not be in a situation that they allow our opponent to mess with our heads. We need to be really focused."
Reighard compared Sunday's meet to a wrestling match. The teams are nearly equal numbers wise in all four rotations.
"We're not dwelling on this meet in particular, but for our MAC competition, we want to make sure that we put up some great performances," said Reighard, who last week against Western inserted freshmen Abbie Zoeller and Gianna Plaska into the lineup for the first time.
Experimentation time is behind the Chippewas now, Reighard said, as CMU finishes the season with two more MAC duals - both on the road -- before the league championships, which are scheduled for Ball State on March 19.
"There will be a little bit of a strategy change and putting people in a different order because we think it's going to be beneficial for us," Reighard said, adding that the focus is squarely on scoring, and on consistency.
"We're asking our athletes to raise the standard and to actually perform at a level that they performed at one or more times this season," he said. "And if they're able to put up their best performance in this meet, we think that's an obtainable goal."
Players Mentioned
