Gymnastics heads to NCAA Regionals
Commerce senior Kylie Fagan cheers on her teammates March 15 at Western Michigan University.
The Central Michigan University gymnastics team’s quest for a national championship continues this weekend.
The No. 21 Chippewas visit Columbus, Ohio for the NCAA Regional Championships at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Following a heartbreaking finish at Kent State University, taking a second-place in the Mid-American Conference Championships, Head Coach Jerry Reighard and the team is moving on.
“It really does affect us and we just have to put that behind us now,” Reighard said. “There is no easy NCAA Regional, but when you get a region with the No. 1 team in nation, we don't expect to beat them.”
The Chippewas face No. 6 the University of Michigan and No. 7 the University of California at Los Angeles.
“We have to use (the loss at Kent State) as motivation push us forward and leave it behind us,” said senior Kylie Fagan.
The Bruins managed five performances of 9.5 or better during their most recent action. UCLA senior Samantha Pezsek notched two 9.5 scores as the Bruins cruised to victory. Pezsek hit a perfect 10 on the bars earlier this season.
On the vault, both U-M and UCLA consistently hit the 49.4 mark.
“We’re not changing routines, we’re going to refine what we do,” Reighard said.“ Our goal is 49.25 on each event.”
Reighard’s goal would give the Chippewas the 197 they aim for, something they haven’t done since the 2004 season.
“As seniors (we) want to redeem ourselves,” said senior Kirsten Stambaugh. “ We all need to trust our training and our gymnastics because we are more than prepared.”
Fagan said the group of veterans is looking forward to the Chippewas’ biggest test of the year.
“I am looking forward to show the nation what personally myself and what this team is made of,” she said.
