2008 Woodie Awards
Free fallin'
Miscues cost gymnastics against Bowling Green
By: Justin Berndt
Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: Sports
After two straight weekends in which the team improved its score, the gymnastics team was hoping to use this weekend as a springboard into next weekend's meet with Kent State.
Instead, they'll have to regroup and refocus in time for the No. 25-ranked Golden Flashes (7-3, 2-0 MAC).
CMU lost to Bowling Green State University 193.350-192.775 on Saturday at the Eppler Complex in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Central had strong performances from many of its gymnasts, including a career best 39.375 all-around from freshman Andrea de la Garza. de la Garza scored a 9.875 vault and a 9.85 in both beam and floor, leading her team in all three events. She also finished second on the team in bars (9.8) on her way to the top all-around score of the night.
"Seeing Andrea (Saturday), I really saw her as a freshman growing up in her gymnastics," said senior co-captain Danielle Espinoza.
Central drops to 2-8 overall and 1-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons improved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the MAC.
However, the Chippewas had to count four falls in the meet, which ultimately led to their downfall, said coach Jerry Reighard.
"We did not do the job and we had ample opportunity to put this meet away and we didn't do that," he said. "Bowling Green had their meet of the year so far. They really rallied and they had a lot of pride and it really showed."
"We have good competitors and they're just not bringing it out at the proper time. In my estimation we're far and away a better team but you got to stay on the events," Reighard said. "When you're hanging tough with a team and you give away well over two points in falls; you just can't do that. It's a tough dilemma and it's becoming a real confidence issue for us."
Espinoza isn't sure why the team has had such a difficult time staying on their routines all season.
"It's hard to say what happened," she said. "I feel like sometimes people's mental lapses get to them and once they get in that place we just can't get back from that, and that's what I think we need to work on more."
Espinoza believes one problem the team faces is that some of their routines don't allow much room for error.
"Some people don't have the 10.0 start values and I think that's what hurting us," she said. "People need to switch their routines around in order to be at a 10.0 and they know that, it's just that they have to get there at practice and be more intense about it."
As a result, the team had spent the week in practice working on increasing the start value of many of the gymnasts' routines. Other than de la Garza, the team struggled to implement many of Reighard's changes.
"Of the upgrades that we did, Andrea came through with flying colors. We needed someone to piggy back with her and we would have been fine, but that just didn't happen," Reighard said. "Being around the sport as long as I have, I know where we need to be and we need to make our move now, or at the MAC championship we won't stand a chance."
sports@cm-life.com
Instead, they'll have to regroup and refocus in time for the No. 25-ranked Golden Flashes (7-3, 2-0 MAC).
CMU lost to Bowling Green State University 193.350-192.775 on Saturday at the Eppler Complex in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Central had strong performances from many of its gymnasts, including a career best 39.375 all-around from freshman Andrea de la Garza. de la Garza scored a 9.875 vault and a 9.85 in both beam and floor, leading her team in all three events. She also finished second on the team in bars (9.8) on her way to the top all-around score of the night.
"Seeing Andrea (Saturday), I really saw her as a freshman growing up in her gymnastics," said senior co-captain Danielle Espinoza.
Central drops to 2-8 overall and 1-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons improved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the MAC.
However, the Chippewas had to count four falls in the meet, which ultimately led to their downfall, said coach Jerry Reighard.
"We did not do the job and we had ample opportunity to put this meet away and we didn't do that," he said. "Bowling Green had their meet of the year so far. They really rallied and they had a lot of pride and it really showed."
"We have good competitors and they're just not bringing it out at the proper time. In my estimation we're far and away a better team but you got to stay on the events," Reighard said. "When you're hanging tough with a team and you give away well over two points in falls; you just can't do that. It's a tough dilemma and it's becoming a real confidence issue for us."
Espinoza isn't sure why the team has had such a difficult time staying on their routines all season.
"It's hard to say what happened," she said. "I feel like sometimes people's mental lapses get to them and once they get in that place we just can't get back from that, and that's what I think we need to work on more."
Espinoza believes one problem the team faces is that some of their routines don't allow much room for error.
"Some people don't have the 10.0 start values and I think that's what hurting us," she said. "People need to switch their routines around in order to be at a 10.0 and they know that, it's just that they have to get there at practice and be more intense about it."
As a result, the team had spent the week in practice working on increasing the start value of many of the gymnasts' routines. Other than de la Garza, the team struggled to implement many of Reighard's changes.
"Of the upgrades that we did, Andrea came through with flying colors. We needed someone to piggy back with her and we would have been fine, but that just didn't happen," Reighard said. "Being around the sport as long as I have, I know where we need to be and we need to make our move now, or at the MAC championship we won't stand a chance."
sports@cm-life.com
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