Gymnasts looks to improve mentally for NCAA Regionals following championship loss
Head Coach Jerry Reighard's path to his 16th Mid-American Conference Championship was put on hold Saturday as the Chippewas finished in fourth place with a 195.6.
Saturday's fourth-place finish marked the first time CMU has lost two MAC Championships in a row since 2008-09.
The Chippewas floor team posted a season-high score of a 49.225 with five gymnasts scoring a 9.8 or higher.
The balance beam was a struggle for CMU as the team scored a 48.725 and had two falls.
"The balance beam was definitely the event that took us out a solid second place, or possibly first," Reighard said. "You can't make those mistakes and Eastern Michigan had no falls."
Eastern Michigan finished first, winning its second championship in program history.
What's next
NCAA gymnastics has a tournament, starting with regionals. The 36-team field will be announced Monday. CMU entered Sunday ranked 35th.
If Central Michigan makes the field of 36, Reighard said he would like to see his team stronger mentally for the tournament.
"The overriding goal is we need to have better mental capacity," Reighard said. "The mistakes we made (Saturday) were not on physical capacity. We need to work on the mental side of gymnastics."
Individual champions
The Chippewas tied their season-best team score on the uneven bars with a 49.1, with sophomore Bryttany Kaplan and senior Megan Lamphere both scoring a 9.9.
The two gymnasts were crowned as the MAC uneven bars champions.
"I feel like it hasn't really sunken in yet," Lamphere said. "I was so happy to celebrate with my team and seeing their faces after my routine. It's incredible to share the title with Bryttany and know how hard we worked in the gym to get this."
Freshman Kasey Janowicz made her first all-around appearance since February 28th against Kent State. She was also honored as MAC Freshman of the Year.
Janowicz won eight all-around competitions this regular season and scored a 9.85, 9.75, 9.65 and 9.2 in her first MAC Championships.
"It was crazy, I've never been in that type of meet before," Janowicz said. "It was exciting because you had to prove yourself in front everyone and the other teams. Winning Freshman of the Year was my goal coming into CMU."
Three Chippewas also made the 11-member MAC All-Tournament team, including Bolender, Lamphere and Kaplan.
