Gymnasts Face Strong Nonleague Test At Kentucky

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan gymnastics team travels to Lexington, Ky., on Friday, March 8 (7 p.m.) to take on No. 12 Kentucky in a nonconference dual.

The Chippewas are 12-1 and are coming off a win over Ball State. The Chippewas scored a season-high 196.175 in beating the Cardinals and clinching a share of their second-consecutive Mid-American Conference regular-season championship.

Kentucky is 5-6 and is coming off a March 1 Southeastern Conference loss to Missouri. The Wildcats posted a 196.000 team score in the meet.

WHERE THEY STAND
The Chippewas are No. 37 in the nation, averaging 195.095. They rank No. 33 on floor exercise, No. 37 on balance beam, No. 40 on uneven parallel bars, and No. 43 in vault.

CMU junior Denelle Pedrick, who on Monday was named the MAC Gymnast of the Week for the fourth time this season, is ranked No. 49 in the nation in the all-around averaging 39.030.

Pedrick posted a career-best 9.925 in winning the floor exercise on Sunday in CMU's victory at Ball State.

Kentucky averages 196.600. The Wildcats rank ninth on beam, No. 12 on vault, No. 13 on bars, and No. 16 on floor.

BIG MEET
Friday's meet looms large for the Chippewas, what with the opponent being highly ranked and CMU sitting just outside one of 36 NCAA Regional qualifying spots.

"This is a very important meet as we head into the championship part of the season," CMU associate coach Christine MacDonald said. "With our training as we improve week in and week out, I definitely think this weekend is another steppingstone towards that postseason finish."

Taking into consideration the opponent and its season average, and the fact that the Chippewas are making steady improvement in their meet scores, Friday's meet has the potential be high scoring.

"I definitely think there is going to be a very competitive atmosphere," MacDonald said. "The focus still stays on our team, but we're still looking to improve off of last week's performance. If they can be one-10th better or 1 percent better, that's what we're looking for this weekend."

NEXT
The Chippewas celebrate Senior Day with their final home meet of the season on Friday, March 15 (7 p.m.) against Northern Illinois.

A win gives CMU the outright MAC regular-season championship. If the Huskies win, they and the Chippewas share the title.

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Players Mentioned

Denelle Pedrick

Central Michigan University Athletics