Gymnasts finish fourth in Central Region
The No. 24 CMU gymanstics team came up short Saturday of the second-place finish it needed in the NCAA Central Regional Championships to advance to Nationals.
It placed fourth of six with a score of 195.125 in Lexington, Ky., missing out on second place by 0.85. The team finished behind No. 13 Illinois (195.425), No. 12 Nebraska (195.975) and No. 1 Alabama (197.4).
CMU beat No. 20 Kentucky and Michigan State. Coach Jerry Reighard said he was aware of the challenge in facing such strong competitors and left relatively pleased.
“The team performed very well. It was as stiff of competition as we imagined it would be,” he said.
The finish came behind strong performances on the balance beam from freshman Britney Taylor, who led the squad with a 9.8. Seniors Katie Simon and Jessica Suder finished their careers with balance beam scores of 9.725 and 9.7, respectively.
The Chippewas began the day on the beam and tied for second with Nebraska, posting a score of 48.65.
Following a bye, the team moved to the floor rotation, where it posted a 48.95. Conlin paced the team with a 9.825.
“(She) had a great floor routine,” Reighard said. “She was very close to winning that event, it just wasn’t quite there.”
Her event score was .15 behind the event winner (Morgan Dennis, Alabama).
Taylor also led the team on vault with a 9.85. Simon (9.825) and sophomore Kristin Teubner (9.8) followed. This shifted the team into third place going into the final event.
The uneven bars began after another short bye and saw a career-best performance by freshman Kari Dieffenderfer (9.875). As a team, CMU scored a 48.5.
Simon led the team in the all-around with a 39.125, finishing fifth overall, .05 points shy of qualifying for nationals. Reighard said he has been happy with Simon’s efforts this season and the leadership she has shown.
“She was the best gymnast in our conference,” he said. “She has just been very a committed team player.”
FUTURE
Reighard said he liked the contributions he got all year from his underclassmen. Four freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors competed.
“It was really a positive experience for our underclassmen, to get that taste of a successful season,” Reighard said.
Ending the season with a 20-5 record, the team won its 11th Mid-American Conference Championship and saw its team ranked the highest mark (23) since the 2005 season.
