Five Gymnastics Squads Compete Sunday Afternoon
Sunday's Results
Central Michigan 193.675, Western Michigan 192.700
UIC 195.250,
Northern Illinois 194.800, Bowling Green 193.950
West Virginia 194.925,
Kent State 194.450, George Washington 194.125
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Central Michigan
Results
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Denelle Pedrick won the uneven parallel bars and the all-around on Sunday as the Central Michigan gymnastics team edged rival Western Michigan in the Chippewas' Mid-American Conference opener at the Broncos' University Arena.
CMU finished with a 193.675 team score to Western's 192.800. CMU is 7-1; Western Michigan is 1-3.
The Chippewas' Morgan Tong won the vault and Nora Fettinger captured the floor, both with 9.825 scores. Pedrick's winning score on bars was 9.800 and she posted an all-around 39.100 total, a season best.
"I saw the grittiness that we talk about on a daily basis on several occasions (during the meet)," CMU coach Jerry Reighard said. "That mental attitude of being gritty is really what it's all about. We look great in many places, and (the team) is really happy. Our seniors are stepping up and are assuring us those wins, so that was great to see."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pedrick entered the meet ranked 71st nationally in all-around, averaging 38.663. The 39.100 she posted against the Broncos is the best among MAC gymnasts this season. CMU's Gianna Plaksa has the second-highest at 39.050.
"Collegiate gymnastics isn't really filled with many athletes that can excel in all four events, and Denelle is certainly one of those and it was her day," Reighard said. "She kept herself in the right place."
The Chippewas' top team score of the day, a 48.625, came on both bars and on the floor exercise.
Fettinger led a strong showing on floor as CMU took four of the top five spots. Pedrick was third, Sierra Demarinis placed fourth and Tong was fifth. After her performance at Western, Fettinger is ranked No. 1 in the MAC on floor.
Plaksa placed second and CMU's Kennedy Rae Johnson was fourth on bars.
The Broncos' Rachael Underwood won the balance beam with a meet-high 9.875. The Chippewas took three of the next four places with Skyler Memmel coming in second, Pedrick placing fourth, and Tong finishing fifth.
BEATING WESTERN
No matter the sport, beating Western is an exciting accomplishment for a CMU team.
"You can talk about the Central vs Western rivalry, and (gymnastics) certainly has that," Reighard said. "We felt like we had a lot of pride coming in here, and we talked about Chippewa pride. But the most important thing is you can't win the MAC regular season if you don't beat your MAC opponents. That was our main goal and we're walking out of here and checking that off our list."
NEXT
The Chippewas will head to Normal, Ill. to take on Illinois State in a nonconference dual on Friday, Feb. 1 (7 p.m.). The Chippewas defeated the Redbirds, 195.275-190.050, at McGuirk Arena on Jan. 11. Illinois State is 2-3.
Northern Illinois
Results
DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University gymnastics team continued its upward trend, earning its season high score for the fourth straight meet, while breaking the school record for the highest team floor score in NIU history. The Huskies took second in the triangular meet, defeating Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green, 194.800-193.950, to notch its second MAC win of the year. UIC won the meet with a team total of 195.250.
"Overall, I was super happy with the day and to see another team high score for the season," said head coach Sam Morreale. "I feel like we're going the right direction and getting the MAC win is huge. That 195 [team score] is still out there, but we'll get there. It was great to see us set the school record on floor, we took advantage of scoring that was ready to be there."
All six NIU gymnasts on floor scored 9.825 or higher and the Huskies did not count a score lower than 9.850 on its final event of the meet. Senior floor specialist Anna Martucci capped off the meet with a season high score of 9.925 to win the event, while Allison Richardson set a new career high mark with a 9.900 to tie for second. The Huskies' team total of 49.375 on floor bettered its old record of 49.350 set at the 2018 MAC Championships.
NIU also recorded its best team scores of the year on vault and uneven parallel bars, which helped the Huskies overcome some uncharacteristic falls on balance beam.
"I felt really good after the first two events," Morreale said. "On vault, we probably landed the best we landed all year, and it was something we focused on all week so it was nice to see that happen. Bars, we're still trying to find our way. We're good there, we're solid there, but I think we can be better."
Cinny Lamberti led the way for NIU on vault with a 9.800 in the anchor position to take fifth on the event, while Amanda Bartemio, who was once again solid across all three of her events for NIU, scored a 9.750. Freshman Morgan Hooper led the Huskies on bars with a career-high 9.800 to take fourth place, with Ally Ferber and Nina Martucci contributing 9.775s to tie for fifth.
Sophomore Mia Lord won the balance beam event with a 9.850 as she and Richardson came through with solid routines to close out beam and send the Huskies into the final event on a positive note.
"Mia for the second meet in a row, she's really getting comfortable in that anchor position on beam," Morreale said. "What I was most proud of was the way we finished beam after having two falls and then coming to floor. Richie [Richardson] showed a lot of maturity after we made a late change to put Gabby [Welch] in on bars, I was proud of her and that speaks volumes."
NIU (5-3, 2-1 MAC) closes out its three-meet homestand on Friday night, February 1, in a Quad Meet versus Kent State, Lindenwood and Seattle Pacific. Action gets underway at 6 p.m. in the NIU Convocation Center and admission is free.
Kent State
Results
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Kent State gymnastics team finished second in the West Virginia Tri on Sunday, using season-high scores in all four events for a season-best all-around score of 194.450.
The Golden Flashes improved their overall score by 3.200 from the opening meet. The team set season-highs on vault with 48.400, bars with 48.850, beam with 48.525 and on the floor with 48.675.
Freshman Riley Danielson tied for first place on beam with a career-high score of 9.800, while senior Dara Williams and junior Jade Brown tied for first place on bars with scores of 9.800. Williams claimed her second event title in as many meets this season and also tied for second place on vault.
All six freshmen that competed for the Flashes recorded a career-high score in at least one event, led by Danielson who improved both her vault and beam score. Madison Trott improved on both the bars and the floor where she finished tied for sixth in each event. Samantha Henry finished tied for fifth on beam with a score of 9.725.
West Virginia claimed the meet title with an overall team score of 194.925 and had individual winners on all four events. George Washington finished third with a score of 194.125, including the Colonials' Alexandra Zois winning the all-around competition with a score of 38.950.
The Flashes will return to action next Friday, February 1 as they open Mid-American Conference competition on the road against Northern Illinois at 7 p.m.
