Gymnasts Prep For Regional

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan Gymnastics team travels to Ann Arbor on Thursday to compete in the first round of the NCAA Regional.

The Chippewas are scheduled to face Illinois in a dual meet at 3 p.m. The winner advances to the second round on Friday where it will compete for one of the top two spots in a quad with No. 2-ranked UCLA, 15^th-ranked Nebraska, and West Virginia.

The top two advance to Saturday's regional final, where they will compete with two other teams – the top two that emerge from another Friday quad involving No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Alabama, Penn State and Ohio State – for a berth in the NCAA Championships.

The Chippewas are coming off a second-place finish in the Mid-American Conference Championships. They posted a 195.575 team score in finishing behind host Northern Illinois. CMU is the only MAC school among the 36 in the NCAA postseason.

"The mindsets (at practice) have been very positive, and high energy," CMU associate coach Christine MacDonald said. "We came in with purpose. Nobody liked our outcome at the MAC Championships, and it definitely gave us motivation to push through to work for the little things and work on the details. That's where the separation happens at regionals, in the details."

Illinois finished in second place behind Michigan in the Big Ten Championships with a season-high 196.650 score.

FAMILIAR FOE
CMU and Illinois met on Jan. 6 in a season-opening quad in Mount Peasant. CMU posted a 194.875 in winning the meet; Illinois finished with 192.850. CMU is 30^th in the nation with a 195.735 regional qualifying score, while Illinois is 29^th at 195.805.

"We both got better throughout the season, our rankings are so close as far as scores," MacDonald said. "We're both hitting our strides so I think it will be a competitive meet. The winner of the meet will be the team who has the better day."

PRACTICE
The Chippewas are preparing for Thursday's dual with an eye toward a quad on Friday, which is an unaccustomed approach, particularly with such a quick potential turnaround.

"Having practices designed for a dual meet and a regional meet are very different because of the different events that happen throughout the (meet) day, like the timing, the meet protocol, etc. is different for the post season," MacDonald said.

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