CMU gymnastics wins regular season title on senior night
Central Michigan University graduate student Lia Kmieciak competes her vault at the gymnastics meet against Ball State University in McGuirk Arena on Friday, March 13, 2026. Kmieciak scored a 9.825 on vault and 9.875 on bars. (CM-Life | Jasmine Brookins)
Central Michigan gymnastics closed its regular season with a stunning 196.100-195.025 victory over Ball State (13-8, 4-1), claiming the outright Mid-American Conference regular season championship.
This is the Chippewas first MAC regular season title since 2022.
“It means so much to our seniors to be able to perform well for their family and friends,” CMU head coach Christine MacDonald said. “It means so much for our team to be able to come into McGuirk and really just shine and say we are proud to be Chippewas.”
With the win, CMU finished the 2026 regular season 13-2 overall and a perfect 6-0 at home, while posting its highest team score of the season.
MacDonald said seniors Luciana Alvarado-Reid, Lia Kmieciak and Avah Bootz truly have passion for the sport and their team, and that it shines in everything they do.
CMU set the tone early on vault, where five Chippewas scored above 9.725. Luciana Alvarado-Reid led the rotation with a 9.850, followed by Lia Kmieciak at 9.825.
Kmieciak later claimed the uneven bars title with a 9.875, helping the Chippewas maintain control through the first half of the meet.
Compared to the first two rotations, CMU fell short of its expectations on the balance beam, the only event Ball State won that night.
“The scores may not have been as high, but I thought they just kept going and backing each other one after another,” MacDonald said. “I think that confidence just grew, so it just kind of opened the door for us to go into the floor and just trust ourselves and have some fun doing it.”
Despite the lower beam scores, the Chippewas delivered on floor in the final rotation. Every CMU gymnast scored above a 9.850, led by redshirt sophomore Heather Parker, who set a new career high with a 9.925.
CMU would go on to have a team floor performance of 49.425, its highest of the season.
Two more Chippewas made career highs as well. On vault, freshman Alexandra Reddick improved to 9.775, while junior Jenna Germond scored a 9.875 on her floor routine.
“Those individuals have been working super hard, just like everybody, and I felt like those were shining moments that we’ve seen in the gym that finally came out today during the performance,” MacDonald said.
After winning the MAC Championships in 2025, the Chippewas will look to take home another title on March 21 at Bowling Green.
“We’re going to go earn every tenth that we can this coming weekend,” MacDonald said. “There’s no defending a title, it’s going to be earning it and putting our best foot forward.”
