Gymnastics doesn't meet Jerry Reighard's expectations, still grabs home-opener victory Sunday against Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Gymnastics came out of Sunday's home opener with a victory, despite competing below head coach Jerry Reighard's expectations.
Central Michigan beat Wisconsin-Eau Claire 194.400-180.200 at McGuirk Arena, scoring highly in its season debut. Still, Reighard wanted more out of his experienced squad.
“It was an opening meet situation ,yet I thought we lacked the confidence I thought we were going to have,” Reighard said. “We had way too many 9.6’s; we didn’t attack the way we're supposed to.”
CMU earned a 9.6 or lower score from the judges in 11 events.
The Chippewas began their lead on vault thanks in part to Brittany and Kristen Petzold. Senior captain Brittany Petzold scored a 9.825 and her younger sister Kirsten scored a 9.8.
Junior Becca Druien was the only CMU gymnast to compete in the all-around. She scored a 38.
“I wanted to be at a 195, and that was our goal,” Reighard said. “I truly believe we’re a 195 team.”
Reighard said lineup changes are to be expected in their next meet against No. 24 University of Maryland. Even though Maryland landed the No. 24 seed, CMU received many votes for top-25, according to NCAA.com results.
“We're going to see some people who know they can do this; I was in a lot of people's ears today saying ‘the door just opened’,” Reighard said. “The exhibitions showed me a lot today, so the lineup will definitely change for our next meet.”
Despite not meeting the team goal of 195, the Chippewas earned the top four spots in every event. Reighard is expecting two lineup changes on the floor routine due to the team's score of 48.925, not meeting his expectations.
CMU has an advantage going into their next meet with a win already in their pocket. Meanwhile, Maryland will hit the floor for the first time this season against the Chippewas.
“I think in gym competition, it makes all the difference,” Reighard said. “I think these three days of practice will be the most important three days of our entire season. It’s going to determine what we can do and what we want to do.”
Reighard made it clear that the shortened week was not necessarily a bad thing. The three practices will allow the competitive nature of gymnasts vying for a spot in Friday's lineup to propel their training.
CMU will host No. 24 Maryland at 7 p.m. on Friday in McGuirk Arena.
