No. 19 Gymnastics routes No.23 Ohio State but falls to No. 14 Illinois
The Central Michigan gymnastics team took second place Sunday against two nationally-ranked powerhouse teams.
The Chippewas failed to score a 49 on the bars for the second consecutive week against No. 14 Illinois and No.23 Ohio State.
CMU posted its third-best score of the year against OSU, but fell short of Illinois’ 196.775.
Taylor Noonan once again showed her beam dominance by scoring her third beam score of 9.9 or more.
“When push comes to shove, balance beam is a very crucial event, and we held our own there,” said head coach Jerry Reighard. “I was really pleased with their composure.”
Taylor Noonan is fifth in CMU's beam rotation and has been the most consistent in the category thus far.
“It is extreme comfort with her on the beam, not only to me, but to our teammates,” Reighard said. “We have great faith in Taylor; we know that her score is going to count. It is nice to have someone of her character.”
Illinois' last gymnast scored a 9.95 on floor, propelling her team past CMU.
“No day is going to feel the same for me and today was definitely not one of my ‘on days.'" Noonan said. "I try and go into every routine with the same mindset. I give myself the same talk and do the same skills every time.”
The Chippewas ended on vault where sophomore Kirsten Petzold scored her second 9.925 of the year to finish off CMU’s day, and sealing a victory over Ohio State.
“I was very excited, I stuck it, there wasn’t much more I could do,” Petzold said.
The Chippewas will travel back to Illinois this weekend for a meet against Mid-American Conference opponent Northern Illinois. CMU will face the Huskies at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
