2008 Woodie Awards
Rival Kent State comes to Rose Arena Saturday for pressure-filled rivalry meet
By: Justin Berndt
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Sports
The gymnastics team has spent the week learning to handle pressure.
In the most pressure filled meet of the season, CMU will find out if it has paid off.
The Chippewas will host No. 22 Kent State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Rose Arena.
"This is going to set a stage for what we can accomplish. We need to be at our best," said coach Jerry Reighard. "Our competitive nature has to show this weekend. We're really stressing the fact that whatever your best score was, you have to bring that out this weekend."
Prior to this week, Reighard and his coaching staff have emphasized that each meet holds similar significance to any other.
But it's Kent State week and Reighard is making sure his team understands the rivalry that Kent State and CMU share. The two have won 18 of the last 21 Mid-American Conference championships.
"We're kind of taking a little different approach. We don't want to keep even-keeled," Reighard said. "We have to be at our highest competitive state this weekend. We, as coaches, are talking about the rivalry. We're talking about how we have great athletes - we just have to put things together all at the same time."
A complete meet will be essential for the Chippewas as they face their strongest conference opponent to date. The Golden Flashes are led by seniors Jill Kowalski and Kristin Peters.
Kowalski finished 18th in the country last year in the all-around and Peters is the defending conference champion in the uneven bars and the balance beam. She also finished fifth and ninth respectively in the national competition.
As a team, KSU (7-3 overall, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) averages 193.9 points per meet, nearly a point better than the Chippewas' 193.2 high score. The Golden Flashes season high of 195.6 is the 18th highest among ranked teams.
Reighard tried a different approach in attempt to eliminate the falls that he felt cost the team in last week's meet at Bowling Green. Instead of pressuring individual gymnasts with running after falls, the pressure is more mental this week.
In the most pressure filled meet of the season, CMU will find out if it has paid off.
The Chippewas will host No. 22 Kent State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Rose Arena.
"This is going to set a stage for what we can accomplish. We need to be at our best," said coach Jerry Reighard. "Our competitive nature has to show this weekend. We're really stressing the fact that whatever your best score was, you have to bring that out this weekend."
Prior to this week, Reighard and his coaching staff have emphasized that each meet holds similar significance to any other.
But it's Kent State week and Reighard is making sure his team understands the rivalry that Kent State and CMU share. The two have won 18 of the last 21 Mid-American Conference championships.
"We're kind of taking a little different approach. We don't want to keep even-keeled," Reighard said. "We have to be at our highest competitive state this weekend. We, as coaches, are talking about the rivalry. We're talking about how we have great athletes - we just have to put things together all at the same time."
A complete meet will be essential for the Chippewas as they face their strongest conference opponent to date. The Golden Flashes are led by seniors Jill Kowalski and Kristin Peters.
Kowalski finished 18th in the country last year in the all-around and Peters is the defending conference champion in the uneven bars and the balance beam. She also finished fifth and ninth respectively in the national competition.
As a team, KSU (7-3 overall, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) averages 193.9 points per meet, nearly a point better than the Chippewas' 193.2 high score. The Golden Flashes season high of 195.6 is the 18th highest among ranked teams.
Reighard tried a different approach in attempt to eliminate the falls that he felt cost the team in last week's meet at Bowling Green. Instead of pressuring individual gymnasts with running after falls, the pressure is more mental this week.
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