Moraw comes .05 short of becoming first CMU All-American gymnast


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Junior Halle Moraw poses at a meet against Kent State February 16. (File Photo | Tianyu Han)

Junior Halle Moraw just missed a shot at being the first All-American in program history, but she’s not hanging her head.

She just wants it to be next season already.

“My goal first of all is to be back (to nationals) as a team,” Moraw said. “After watching today and yesterday’s practice sessions, we can definitely make it.”

Moraw scored a 9.850 on balance beam Friday, good enough to tie for 13th in the second session of the NCAA national championships.

Head coach Jerry Reighard said Moraw’s calm demeanor in the midst of the high-pressure situation on a national stage was key. He wasn’t surprised.

“I just think that’s Halle,” Reighard said. “She has a way about herself of staying level, not getting spiked with anxiety and that was definitely the part that I think really helped her.”

No other competitors performed during Moraw’s routine. She said she loved being the center of attention.

“I just went out, I had fun and I did my gymnastics,” Moraw said. “The excitement in that building was unreal and I just wanted to get out there and compete.”

The top four from each session advanced to Sunday’s individual event championships and were named first-team All-Americans while the next four in each session were named second-team All-Americans.

Reighard said it was one small mistake that kept Moraw from scoring the 9.9 she needed to advance to the finals.

“She did the exact routine that we wanted her to do, except in one place,” Reighard said. “She lost her balance slightly, lifted her leg about waist-high and these officials take the most severe deductions when you offer that to them.”

Senior Emily Heinz and junior Taylor Noonan also competed on beam for the Chippewas on Friday. Neither reached the 9.85 level they hit at regionals, but Reighard said all three performances were something special.

“The performances that we saw yesterday from each of the girls were excellent moments with just a few seconds of imperfection,” Reighard said.

Noonan recovered from an early bobble to finish 32nd with a 9.725.

“Taylor Noonan had what I would term an adrenaline rush, and that’s not what you can do on balance beam,” Reighard said. “She exploded with some big skills, but her biggest jump in the whole routine comes right at the beginning and she just overdid it. After that, she got it back and you could tell that she was then really locked in and focused.”

Making a mistake on balance beam can be much more costly than on other events because the gymnasts are performing on a four-inch wide beam. Falling off the beam is an automatic half point deduction.

“I just think I got ahead of myself a little bit and if you’re a little bit off, it’s a big deduction on the beam,” Noonan said. “It’s not a thing you can cover up very well.”

Heinz’s 9.575 placed her 39th of the 45 competitors. While she said she was disappointed with her result, finishing her career at nationals is something she never thought would happen coming in as a freshman.

“We fought hard, all of us. I would’ve liked to do better, but it’s over and I’m glad I got to experience it," Heinz said.

Heinz, Noonan and Moraw are three of 10 Chippewas to ever advance to the NCAA championships and the first since 2004.

“As a senior, that’s the way to go out, to make it to this level,” Reighard said. “The juniors, they have a memory that they’re going to be able to take with them through their senior year and I think it’ll certainly inspire them and our team for the next year.”

While the three were the only Chippewas competing, they weren’t the only Chippewas in Birmingham, Ala. A group of their teammates drove down to Alabama Friday morning to cheer on their team.

“It made a big difference and it means the world to me that they came down here to support us.” Noonan said. “They did it without any question or without any hesitation because that’s just the type of team that we have.

“I think that’s what’s going to make our team very special next year with six seniors that are willing to do anything for one another.”

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About Taylor DesOrmeau

Taylor DesOrmeau is a senior at Central Michigan University, majoring in integrative public relations ...

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