After revisiting some mistakes from last weekend, the Ball State University gymnastics team made some upgrades to their routines. Specifically, they took part of their practice on Monday to make improvements on the bars, beam and floor.
Coach Lisa Simonton said these errors were made from the gymnasts feeling good about their routines and letting up at the end.
"You can't give up and you can't ease up," Simonton said. "You've got to go all out on every single thing even if you're feeling pretty good."
Junior Lauren West will be back in the lineup this weekend. She competed in the all-around at the first meet but has been out the last two meets due to injury. Simonton said she's happy to have her back.
"Having her back in even one event is going to be huge for us because she's very solid," Simonton said.
It is still undetermined what events West will be competing in. It is hoped that West will help to improve the low scores on the bars.
"We had to count a 7.700," Simonton said. "That's okay to have a routine with mistakes. That's going to happen. That's why we have that dropped score. When you have six, you count the top five and you can throw out that 7.700. That's a big difference even if it's just one point."
As the routines begin to improve, relationships and confidence improve as well.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Wills said she appreciates the friendship among teammates.
"We're kind of like a sorority," Wills said. "We're our own little group. We do things outside of the gym together."
Simonton said the gymnasts understand what she is trying to do with the gymnastics program. She compares her plan to an exercise prescription.
"It's the mode of exercise and type of activity," Simonton said. "It's what we do. You have to follow the doctor's orders."
Simonton said the team is just going to grow and she sees the progress. She said recognizing the mistakes made on the floor last week was progress. For now she wants to see a gradual ripple effect with the team's scores.
"If we hit three out of four events I'd be happy," Simonton said. "Down the line we've got to hit four out of four events. It's just getting that confidence and that endurance for all of our events. Get the mind focused and we'll be there."
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