Gymnasts endure mental challenges at MAC Championships
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — The winner of the Mid-American Conference gymnastics championship may be the team that can best handle the day-long mental grind.
No. 24 CMU proved it was mentally stronger than it was last year, where it struggled on the balance beam coming off a bye.
The difference between the MAC Championships and a normal dual or tri-meet lies in the atmosphere, distractions and, of course, the waiting. There are seven gymnastics teams in the MAC — four are on the gym floor at one time. That gives each team a schedule of byes, where it sits dormant for more than 20-30 minutes to get cold and out of sorts.
CMU started the day on a bye — one of the perks of finishing high in the regular season standings — and, after scoring a 48.45 on the uneven bars, took a break again.
Heading into what CMU coach Jerry Reighard calls the toughest event in the balance beam and following an average performance, the team would either regroup strongly or pity itself and fall apart.
Reighard said it was worrisome heading into the bye, trailing by just less than 0.5 points.
“The assistant coaches do the talking in the locker room. My job is to maintain and watch what’s going on on the floor so I know exactly where we stand,” he said. “Both assistant coaches came back and said, ‘They’re fine. They’re in good shape and we know we’re a good team on the next event.’ And inside, I’m going, ‘Oh, really? We’re going to the balance beam.’”
For senior Katie Simon, she used an optimistic approach after the first rotation. She described the team as upbeat and positive.
“Bars has always been our lowest event,” she said. “It was only the first event, and anything could happen. We were just ready to pick it up.”
Simon said the team did not allow Kent State’s balance beam performances affect its scores later in the meet as well. CMU needed Kent State to count a fall to finally get comfortable.
But the team’s other senior, balance beam specialist Jessica Suder, saw a team with a different mindset when Kent State was on the balance beam.
“We were all nervous,” she said. “Half of us were OK, not wanting to know anything. I wanted to know. I was really nervous. I know they’re really good. I know they could’ve hit ... I mean, it was nerve racking sitting in there.”
PRIOR FAILURE
In 2009, the Chippewas fell victim to the balance beam at the MAC Championships.
They did not have a score higher than 9.7, and four of the six scores were 9.5 or below. But this year, even with a lackluster uneven bars performance, the team withstood the day-long pressure.
This year, CMU matched its season-best score of 49.025 just a week after posting it the first time — in the same venue, Anderson Arena.
And unlike last year, Kent State was the team to falter.
The Golden Flashes had to count a fall after their second gymnast fell off the beam.
After the uneven bars rotation and its bye, the team totaled meet-highs on the balance beam (49.025), floor exercise (49.175) and vault (48.95) with another bye sandwiched in the middle.
