CMU remains unbeaten in conference standings following NIU tri meet

DEKALB, Ill. - Central Michigan Gymnastics placed second in a tri meet at Northern Illinois with a score of 195.325 on Sunday.

CMU only competed against NIU in the conference standings in the meet, which gives the Chippewas a 2-0 conference record following the contest.

CMU continues to get impressive performances from individuals up and down the roster, as Sunday's meet featured a handful of scores of 9.800+. Coach Christine MacDonald was pleased with the improvements her team continues to make.

"Each event had different individuals step up, and I think the score sheet reflects that," MacDonald said. "Really pleased to see all the corrections that we've been making the last couple of weeks come all together today."

The Chippewas started their day off on bars, where they registered a score of 48.850 in their first rotation. Sophomore Luciana Alvarado-Reid was CMU's highest scorer in the event with a 9.825, which tied her for second.

MacDonald was complimentary of senior Adriana Bustelo and her steady presence when discussing her team's uneven parallel bars rotation

"On bars, we had a bit of an uncharacteristic mistake," she said. "Adriana really stepped in and brought things back for us. Lucy ended up placing second on bars with another nice routine with a 9.825."

Junior Lia Kmieciak tied for third on bars with a 9.800. She also placed second on vault with a personal record score of 9.900 and was one of two Chippewas to place top three in the closing event. CMU earned a score of 49.200 for the event.

"Leah did a great job placing second on vault today," MacDonald said. "Placing right behind her was Elizabeth Cesarone with a 9.875. So both really good, strong performances on vaulting."

Prior to the vault rotation, Cesarone earned a score of 9.875 for her floor routine. She was one of three Chippewas to score 9.875. Additionally, none scored below 9.825.

CMU's meet-high score of 49.4000 on the floor rotation reflected the work that the team has been putting in practice.

"We just had a great day," she said of the floor rotation. "I mean floor was just really a lot of fun today. Saw a lot of great progress. It was nice to see senior Hallie Hornbacher winning the event. She really had a strong performance and then just followed up with several strong performances. Elizabeth Buttle and Elizabeth Cesarone both got 9.875 which were some strong performances there."

Hornbacher earned the win on floor with a score of 9.925, while graduate student Ashley Veglucci was the other to score 9.875. Junior Quinn Skrupa followed closely behind with a 9.850.

On the balance beam, CMU had a pair of athletes place top three in Alvarado-Reid and freshman Karina Lankamer, who each scored 9.775. The Chippewas scored 47.875 in the event.

"On beam today, really proud of Karina Lankamer and Lucy (Alvarado-Reid), both of them tied for third," MacDonald said. "There was a little bit of a break before Karina got to do her routine, and she just remained really patient and did a great job of coming in and performing a really solid routine."

CMU will return to action a week from Sunday (Feb 4), when the Chippewas travel to Bowling Green to take on Falcons in a tri meet also featuring the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The meet is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

CMU remains unbeaten in conference standings following NIU tri meet

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Players Mentioned

Adriana Bustelo

Elizabeth Buttle

Elizabeth Cesarone

Hallie Hornbacher

Lia Kmieciak

Karina Lankamer

Quinn Skrupa

Ashley Veglucci