Gymnastics look to regain winning was at EMU Friday
After a disappointing loss last Sunday against Texas Woman’s University and a few key injured gymnasts Central Michigan gymnastics will try to recover on the road.
It is the annual Illinois vs. Michigan challenge and it is at Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday in Ypsilanti.
The Texas Woman’s University loss will have some lingering affects with freshman Rebecca Druien and sophomore Meaghan McWhorter getting injured during the meet.
Head coach Jerry Reighard said Druien will not be competing at the meet on Friday.
“It’s really unknown at this point, she sustained an injury to her elbow,” Reighard said. “She hasn’t practiced all week.”
One member of the team that has been counted on throughout the season is sophomore Brittany Petzold.
Petzold scored an all-around score of 39.300, while scoring 9.825 on vault, 9.850 on bars, 9.750 on beam, and 9.875 on floor.
Her efforts were rewarded with her second Mid-American Conference gymnast of the week award.
“Brittany is a very determined young lady, I don’t think many athletes have the competitive drive that Brittany does,” Reighard said. “That means a lot to our team, and to our program.”
The loss was a learning experiencing especially to the freshmen.
“It really brought to the attention of the freshmen that a tenth can contribute to a loss or a win,” Reighard said. “For us to be a great team, each individual has to be able to depend on everyone else.”
Against Texas Woman’s University, CMU had some line up changes. It was to experiment on who was comfortable on what events.
Reighard experimented with the line up last meet, and is still looking for that perfect combination.
“We were trying to find score building,” Reighard said. “Score building is when you put together the right combination, the previous routine should help improve the score. I think we are still looking for that combination.”
CMU will be competing against EMU, Illinois State, and University of Illinois-Chicago. Last year, CMU took first place at the event.
“We don’t think we will be full strength at this meet,” Reighard said. “Druien is out, and we are skeptical that Meaghan McWhorter will compete. We are looking at a line up that probably won’t include six competitors on each event.”
