Two gymnasts qualify for NCAA Championships at regional meet
The season came to an end Saturday for the Central Michigan gymnastics team as the Chippewas finished in sixth place at the NCAA Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas. CMU scored a 195.675, snapping its streak of three consecutive 196 scores.
Utah won Regionals with a 197.15 and Denver finished in second place with a 197.05 to advance to the NCAA Championships. The top two teams advance to the NCAA Championships.
Junior Katy Clements and freshman Denelle Pedrick both qualified for the NCAA Championships as event specialists.
Clements qualified on the balance beam with a score of 9.9 which was a four way tie for first on the event.
Pedrick qualified on vault with a score of 9.9 to also finish in a four-way tie for first place.
CMU started the meet on the floor and posted a score of 48.85. Junior Macey Hilliker led the team scoring with a 9.85 on the floor. This was the first time since early February that the Chippewas didn’t post a 49 or higher on the floor.
The Chippewas moved onto the vault in the second rotation and scored a 49. Pedrick had the top mark on the vault with a 9.9, which was a four way tie for the top vault score at the regional. After the vault, CMU had a bye before going onto the uneven bars.
CMU scored a 48.7 on the uneven bars. Sophomore Kasey Janowicz had the top score for the Chippewas with a 9.8 and finished the meet on the balance beam.
CMU struggled early in the season on the beam but the Chippewas posted above a 49 in each meet after March. CMU continued that trend Saturday after posting a 49.125 on the beam.
For beam, each gymnast scored over a 9.775 and Clements finished with the top score of 9.9 — good for a four-way tie for first place on the beam for the regional.
Clements and Pedrick will compete on Friday, April 14 in St. Louis, Missouri in the NCAA Championships.
