Chippewa Gymnasts Top Eastern In MAC Opener

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Central Michigan gymnasts placed first in all four events and Denelle Pedrick captured the all-around on Sunday as the Chippewas topped Eastern Michigan in their Mid-American Conference-opening dual at the Eagles' Convocation Center.

The Chippewas finished with a 195.100 team score. Eastern Michigan posted a 194.275.

"Today was definitely a little bit of a challenge," CMU coach Christine MacDonald said. "We were a little short-handed today and we had to change some lineups around, but we were able to put out a very competitive squad.

"Really proud of the overall team performance today. It took the whole team today which is something we've been stressing. We stayed committed to the process and we never focused on the outcome. Happy to start off the MAC with a win and we continue to move forward."

CMU Winners
Pedrick, a senior, won the floor exercise with a 9.875 and posted a 9.850 on the uneven parallel bars to share first place with Eastern's Cortney Bezold.

CMU sophomore Morgan Tong won the balance beam with a 9.900, and Chippewa freshman Hannah Demers posted a 9.900 to win the vault and lead a CMU sweep of the top-five spots in the event.

All-Around
Pedrick won the all-around with a 39.400 score, while Demers was second and CMU's Sierra Demarinis was fourth.

Pedrick was second to Tong on beam and third on vault.

"Denelle did a tremendous job for us today," MacDonald said. "She's continuing to put together four solid routines each weekend. Start to finish she performed one event after another."

Vault
Demers led a dominant team performance in vault as the Chippewas posted a 49.150 score. Senior Sydney Williams was second, while Kennedy Rae Johnson shared third with Pedrick and Demarinis placed fifth.

"(Demers) got a perfect score from one judge and that's a consistency from her week in and week out and she's being recognized for her performance on vault," MacDonald said.

Williams' performance on the vault was key, MacDonald said.

"She did an outstanding vault and kept the momentum going in the right direction and brought the vault squad to life," she said. "When she hit it really re-ignited the team and we took from there."

Career Best
Tong, who last year was named the MAC Freshman of the Year, posted her career-best in winning the beam.

"Just a tremendous day from Morgan," MacDonald said. "She came in and performed for herself and her teammates. She's really consistent in the gym and it's nice to see her trust that routine and see her perform."

Next
The Chippewas go to Ohio State for a nonconference meet on Saturday, Jan. 25 (4 p.m.). The Buckeyes are 1-1 after scoring a season-best 195.275 on Saturday in a Big Ten loss at Michigan State.

"We're looking forward to this week and going back in the gym, working hard and getting better," MacDonald said. "One step at a time, that's our focus."

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Denelle Pedrick

Morgan Tong

Sydney Williams