Gymnasts refocus for NCAA Regionals this weekend
The CMU gymnastics team hopes to take the momentum it built from its 11th Mid-American Conference Championship toward Saturday’s NCAA Regional Championships in Lexington, Ky.
Following the MAC title, the team struggled when it returned to practice last week, said coach Jerry Reighard. However, he understood the excitement the team displayed.
“We had a little bit of trouble practicing on Monday and Tuesday — we were in a celebratory mood — but I didn’t want to squash that,” he said.
The reason for excitement was evident after a 195.65 showing in Bowling Green, topping defending champion Kent State’s 195.05. Katie Simon, Jessica Suder, Andrea De La Garza, Cheryl Conlin and Britney Taylor all earned at least a share of an individual championship at the meet, and Simon won the all-around (39.2), her second consecutive MAC Championships victory. de la Garza and Taylor tied for second in the all-around (39.1).
But the focus returned after the short lapse, and Reighard said he was pleased with the excellent practices the team delivered Wednesday and Thursday.
PREPARATIONS
The two weeks between the MAC Championships and the NCAA Regionals have allowed the team to take some time off.
However, the practice schedule for this week has remained standard, with Tuesday’s practice focusing on the exact rotations the team will run at Regionals.
Nearing the later portion of the schedule, health is always a concern for coaches. Reighard said he is glad there are no major setbacks in that department this year.
“I could go down the list with every athlete and say this is hurting,” he said. “But thank goodness that there is not anything that will keep anyone out of competition.”
The team departs for Lexington on Thursday and will be have a practice session Friday in preparation for Saturday’s 6 p.m. meet.
In terms of event rotation, the team has drawn the balance beam first, which has caused problems at times this season. However, CMU won the balance beam event at the MAC Championships with a 49.025.
The advantage in this meet compared to the conference meet is less downtime between rotations. At the MAC Championships, Central had three byes worked into its schedule.
LOOKING AHEAD
No. 24 CMU faces No. 1 Alabama, No. 12 Nebraska, No. 13 Illinois, No. 20 Kentucky and Michigan State. The top two finishers advance to the NCAA Championships.
Reighard said his team can compete at the same level of its regional opponents.
“I look at it as our chance to surprise some people,” he said, “We have got to do CMU gymnastics, and we will be a contender.”
It will be CMU’s seventh appearance in the Regional Championships and second consecutive appearance. The previous high finish at this stage was in 2003, when CMU tied Auburn for second place.
