CMU Gymnasts Headed To NCAA Regional
3/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Central Michigan gymnastics team is headed back to the NCAA Regionals.
The Chippewas accepted a bid on Monday to the Iowa City Regional where they will join a six-team field that includes No. 1-ranked Oklahoma. The regional is scheduled for Saturday, April 2.
The top two teams advance to the April 15-17 NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.
"They were really excited about it," CMU coach Jerry Reighard said of his team members, who watched the NCAA Selection Show during practice on Monday afternoon. "The TV show today really got them fired up. They're ready to go. Now it's my job to keep them motivated and keep stressing those tenths of a point, those little things that we can improve on."
The Chippewas finished fourth Saturday in the Mid-American Conference Championships, a relatively poor showing for the premier program in the MAC.
CMU, which will be making its eighth consecutive regional appearance, finished third behind UCLA and Michigan last year in the regional at Ohio State. The Chippewas' 195.600 team score was the program's second-best in regional competition.
The Chippewas graduated a number of standouts and mainstays from that squad, making 2016, on paper at least, a year of transition.
Reighard and his assistant coaches fully accepted that, and prepared for the inevitable growing pains likely to come with it, heading into the season. But what they didn't bank on was a rash of injuries that took a major toll and severely tested the Chippewas' depth.
"We had some ups and downs throughout this season," Reighard said. "The girls fought so hard each and every meet. Sometimes we had mistakes, but that's the situation we were in.
"I feel really feel good about the bid, feel good about the regional site that we got."
Nebraska, which is ranked 12th, is also in the field along with 18th-ranked Iowa, Kent State and Arkansas. Thirty-six teams - six at each of six sites - comprise the regional fields.
Last season, the Chippewas were placed in a regional with the No. 6 Wolverines and seventh-ranked UCLA.
"We're going to go against the No. 1 team in the nation and that's tough," Reighard said. "The last few regionals we've been in with the (Nos.) six and seven teams, and that's a real uphill battle.
"Now it's one and 12, and the 12 is much more realistic for us to contend with."