Revenge, Title On The Minds Of Chippewa Gymnasts
3/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Zach Libby, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The circumstances have changed. The inner expectations have not.
A year ago, the Central Michigan gymnastics team saw its streak of first-place finishes at the Mid-American Conference Championships end at five. The margin was just one-10th of a point, and the team that edged the Chippewas was Kent State.
The Chippewas enter the 2016 MAC Championships - Saturday, 2 p.m., at Ball State - looking up at the Golden Flashes after the latter went unbeaten in conference duals.
But for the Chippewas, the focus is no themselves and their numbers, not an opponent.
"Our seniors especially have been there so many times that they know exactly what to do," longtime CMU coach Jerry Reighard said. "Our freshmen have been counseled and advised by their teammates and coaches, so we know what's going on."
Experienced upperclassmen, such as Karlee Teet and Taylor Bolender, along with an overall healthy lineup have fed Reighard's optimism.
Teet, who hasn't done the all-around since early January, will be back on the floor exercise. Freshman Kasey Janowicz, who sat out the Bowling Green dual on March 4 and competed only on balance beam and uneven bars last week against EMU due to a leg injury, will return and perform the all-around again.
Among the returning-from-injury Chippewas is Kristin Stambaugh, who is slated to compete on the vault after sitting out much of the season.
"We will probably have our best lineup in about the last six weeks," Reighard said. "We have some people back in the lineup that we haven't been able to use and that'll be a big factor."
Reighard said that he's eying a score of 196.300 in order for his team to raise their index fingers in the air in celebration after the championship. The Chippewas have reached the 196 mark once this season (196.125 against Western Michigan).
CMU's next-best score this season came against Bowling Green on March 4.
The last time Reighard and the Chippewas did not go into the MAC Championships as the defending champions was in 2009. And it's the first time in two seasons that the Chippewas are not ranked No. 1 among in four events. In fact, they're not first on any event.
Kent State is a major motivator. Not only is Kent State the team that everyone in the conference is gunning for, but it's personal for CMU after its streak of titles came to an end a year ago in the Golden Flashes' gym.
"We have 24 pieces to a puzzle and every time we can't put one of those pieces into the puzzles, we become more vulnerable," Reighard said. "Each person counts and they have a job and responsibility and we feel confident that they're going to be able to do that."
Players Mentioned
