Central Michigan University Athletics
Rival Western Next For CMU Gymnasts
1/19/2018 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Jan. 19, 2018
SETTING THE SCENE
The Central Michigan gymnastics team welcomes rival Western Michigan on Saturday for a Mid-American Conference dual meet at McGuirk Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
The Chippewas defeated two-time defending MAC champion Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti. CMU posted a 194.525 team score to the Eagles' 194.025.
While the 194.525 was plenty good to win the meet, it was far from the standard CMU set - a sizzling 196.375 - one week earlier in its season opener. It marked the best score a Chippewa team has posted in program history for an opening meet.
CMU posted a 48.225 team total against EMU on floor exercise, which is traditionally the Chippewas' best event. It was their lowest score in any of the four events in the meet, a rarity for a CMU team.
"I'm very confident this weekend against Western that those mistakes will not occur again," veteran CMU coach Jerry Reighard said. "I definitely wasn't pleased, and (our gymnasts) felt exactly the same way, which was a relief to me. They understood, they felt bad and they were disappointed. They came in on Monday ready to work."
RECORDS
CMU is 2-0, 1-0 MAC; Western is 1-0 after posting a 193.425 in winning their season-opening meet last weekend over Illinois-Chicago.
NATIONAL STAGE
The Chippewas are ranked 14th nationally with a 195.450 average through two meets.
Individually, CMU's Denelle Pedrick is tied for 13th nationally on vault with a 9.875 average; Gianna Plaksa is tied for 44th on bars (9.838); Katy Clements is tied for 12th on beam (9.887); and Macey Hilliker is tied for 16th on floor (9.888).
HONORS
Two weeks into the season, two CMU gymnasts have earned individual accolades from the MAC.
Plaksa was named the league's Specialist of the Week after posting a career-best 9.875 win winning bars against Eastern Michigan. One week earlier, Clements was named the Gymnast of the Week for her performance in CMU's season-opening victory.
QUOTE
Reighard on the Chippewas facing their rivals: "This is Central-Western, it's the same in our sport as it is any other sport. (Our gymnasts) want to come out and do great things against Western. This is an important statement weekend for us. We anticipate a big crowd. Our gymnasts annually compete well with a big crowd. In our sport that is significant - you want to show off what you can do."
NEXT
CMU goes to Northern Illinois for a MAC dual meet on Sunday, Jan. 28 (3 p.m.).
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The Central Michigan gymnastics team welcomes rival Western Michigan on Saturday for a Mid-American Conference dual meet at McGuirk Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
The Chippewas defeated two-time defending MAC champion Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti. CMU posted a 194.525 team score to the Eagles' 194.025.
While the 194.525 was plenty good to win the meet, it was far from the standard CMU set - a sizzling 196.375 - one week earlier in its season opener. It marked the best score a Chippewa team has posted in program history for an opening meet.
CMU posted a 48.225 team total against EMU on floor exercise, which is traditionally the Chippewas' best event. It was their lowest score in any of the four events in the meet, a rarity for a CMU team.
"I'm very confident this weekend against Western that those mistakes will not occur again," veteran CMU coach Jerry Reighard said. "I definitely wasn't pleased, and (our gymnasts) felt exactly the same way, which was a relief to me. They understood, they felt bad and they were disappointed. They came in on Monday ready to work."
RECORDS
CMU is 2-0, 1-0 MAC; Western is 1-0 after posting a 193.425 in winning their season-opening meet last weekend over Illinois-Chicago.
NATIONAL STAGE
The Chippewas are ranked 14th nationally with a 195.450 average through two meets.
Individually, CMU's Denelle Pedrick is tied for 13th nationally on vault with a 9.875 average; Gianna Plaksa is tied for 44th on bars (9.838); Katy Clements is tied for 12th on beam (9.887); and Macey Hilliker is tied for 16th on floor (9.888).
HONORS
Two weeks into the season, two CMU gymnasts have earned individual accolades from the MAC.
Plaksa was named the league's Specialist of the Week after posting a career-best 9.875 win winning bars against Eastern Michigan. One week earlier, Clements was named the Gymnast of the Week for her performance in CMU's season-opening victory.
QUOTE
Reighard on the Chippewas facing their rivals: "This is Central-Western, it's the same in our sport as it is any other sport. (Our gymnasts) want to come out and do great things against Western. This is an important statement weekend for us. We anticipate a big crowd. Our gymnasts annually compete well with a big crowd. In our sport that is significant - you want to show off what you can do."
NEXT
CMU goes to Northern Illinois for a MAC dual meet on Sunday, Jan. 28 (3 p.m.).
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