But he is not the only person in the program feeling the extra nerves heading into Saturday’s MAC Championships at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio.

“You want everything to be perfect,” he said. “And you want your athletes to realize that the whole year boils down to this one competition, which really amounts to a lot of pressure on everybody.”

The team finished second to Kent State in last year’s championships and lost to the Golden Flashes on Feb. 13 in Mount Pleasant. But since the loss, No. 24 CMU has won its last five and also broke the 196-point barrier (196.35 vs. Bowling Green on Sunday).

But the pressure to this meet is new to many of the athletes, as the team has nine freshmen (including redshirt freshman Samantha Piotrowski).

“It is all new for me,” said freshman Britney Taylor. “I am just trying to go in with an open mind ready to compete, and focused.”

Following last weekend’s meet against Bowling Green, the Chippewas claimed the highest scores on all but one statistical category, ranking first in the vault (49.2), balance beam (49.025), floor exercise (49.3) and in the all-around score (196.350). They place third overall on the uneven bars (48.975).

Individually, senior Katie Simon, who won MAC Gymnast of the Year at last year’s MAC Championships, posted her highest all-around score of her career last weekend (39.475), as she scored 9.9 or higher in two of her events. And last year, she won four MAC titles, claiming first on the vault, uneven bars and the all-around, while tying for first on the floor exercise.

Reighard said Simon is primed for a successful finish.

“Katie looks really good right now — she is really preparing herself,” he said, “If I could get everyone to believe what she is doing works, I would feel more comfortable.”

The team departs this morning for Bowling Green. Upon arriving, it has a scheduled practice in the gym before Sunday’s meet. Reighard said he will attempt to limit the team’s outside distractions and keep the focus on the match and the team.

“We’re really determined that we’re going to make this a team weekend,” he said. “You just want your athletes to understand its all focus.”

MEET ROTATIONS

Unlike regular-season meets, the event rotations are in Olympic order, slightly different than the collegiate order the gymasts are accustomed to.

CMU’s day will begin on the uneven bars and finish on the vault, with the balance beam slated in the second rotation.

It has seen inconsistent scores on the event throughout the season, with a lone constant coming from senior Jessica Suder (9.875 high), tied for second place in the league.

An added distraction in this meet is the layoff, or bye time in between events. A normal dual meet flows from event to event with a three-minute touch warmup between runs.

Conversely, with all seven MAC teams in one gym, the team is forced to take byes in between events. The Chippewas begin the competition with a bye and have two more later.