Gymnastics Defeats Northern Illinois 195.425-193.600

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Junior Adriana Bustelo registered the top scores of the day on both bars and beam and the Chippewas used a dominant team floor exercise performance to claim a 195.425-193.600 victory over Northern Illinois Saturday afternoon before a spirited crowd at McGuirk Arena. The meet marked CMU's home opener, its first MAC meet, and second overall competition of the 2022-23 season.

Bustelo posted a career-best 9.925 on the bars and a 9.850 on the beam, senior Hannah DeMers notched a day-high 9.850 on the vault, and a whole host of Chippewas posted top scores on floor, including Taylor Pitchell, who topped the list with a 9.925.

Central Michigan held a slim 0.300 lead heading into its final event: floor exercise. But the Chippewas followed through with six outstanding performances to win the meet in a landslide. Redshirt sophomore Hallie Hornbacher started the event off with a 9.875, freshman Luciana Alvarado-Reid followed with a 9.875, junior Elizabeth Buttle scored a 9.85, and senior Ashley Veglucci posted another 9.85. DeMers then topped them all with a 9.90, and Pitchell closed the meet down with her 9.925.

"This is definitely a great home opening meet for us," Central Michigan Head Coach Christine MacDonald said. "Anytime you start with MAC play, you know you're going to have great competition on the floor. I'm really pleased with our student-athletes and how their focus was today. They were prepared and really thrived in that home court environment today. We had quite a few highlights."

CMU started the meet on vault. The Chippewas jumped in front quickly as they were led by DeMers, who registered a 9.85 and sophomore Lia Kmieciak, who notched a 9.825. Alvarado-Reid and sophomore Avah Bootz both finished with 9.775 scores, and junior Elizabeth Cesarone chipped in a 9.75.

Bars were next for Central Michigan, which increased its lead with three CMU gymnasts scoring personal-bests. Bustelo electrified the crowd with her personal-best of 9.925, the best score of the day. Veglucci and Alvarado-Reid both totaled career-bests of 9.825.

Bustelo closed out CMU's beam performance with a 9.85 and Pitchell pitched in a 9.725.

"Everybody works really hard, it's a team event," MacDonald said. "We are there to pick each other up and we have each other's backs. Everybody always works for those great moments. It is nice to see our gymnasts have those moments today in some clutch situations where we needed those scores. I was especially proud of all of them, especially Luci. It was her first meet where there was a little bit more at stake with MAC play. She did a great job and finished strong on her last event."

The event marked the first of three consecutive home meets for CMU Gymnastics. The Chippewas host Bowling Green next Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., then host Eastern Michigan on Friday, Feb. 3 (7 p.m.).

—CMU—

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Players Mentioned

Luciana Alvarado-Reid

Avah Bootz

Adriana Bustelo

Elizabeth Buttle

Elizabeth Cesarone

Hannah DeMers

Hallie Hornbacher

Lia Kmieciak

Taylor Pitchell

Ashley Veglucci