It's not disrespectful, but during meets, the Ball State University gymnastics team doesn't watch its competition perform.
That won't change Saturday at the Mid-American Conference Championships in Ypsilanti, Mich., coach Lisa Simonton and senior Jenna Tarkington said.
"It's not like basketball; we don't scout the other team," Tarkington said. "We don't watch the other teams because we are thinking about our team and preparing ourselves."
The meet will include all MAC schools. Ball State has faced Northern Illinois University, Western Michigan University, Kent State University, Eastern Michigan University and Bowling Green State University already this season. The Cardinals have only beaten Northern Illinois but are ready for the MAC rematches, Simonton said.
Tarkington and Simonton said practices this week have been going well, and most of the things they are working on now are just to perfect individual routines.
"We've had really good practices and I'm not worried [about the meet]," Simonton said. "I've practice judged them and they've rocked scores of like 9.700 and 9.750 or higher."
The meet for the Cardinals will start on the balance beam, which Simonton said has been the team's worst event all season. However, she said, by starting with beam, they get it out of the way and move on to the floor exercise, the team's best event all season.
"This will be a long meet with lots of downtime mixed in," Simonton said. "If we can hit, it's anyone's meet. I think we're equal to all the other teams on vault, bars and floor. The difference will be on the beam."
After the floor exercise, the team will have a bye round in which they can relax and regroup in the locker room where the don't have to watch the other schools, Simonton said.
Following the bye, Ball State preforms on vault before having another bye round. The Cardinals will then perform on the uneven bars and will finish the meet with their third bye.
"During that last bye round, it is time to celebrate no matter what the outcome," Simonton said. "It's a chance for the girls to get out of their leotards, have fun and just celebrate."
The meet is the end of the season for the team, but depending on final results, senior Kelly Watson has a chance to qualify for the NCAA Central Regional Championships April 14.
"Once you get to [your senior year], you have to be a leader for the team," Watson said. "And I want the team to do well. I want to prove to other MAC teams we are good and that Ball State isn't a team to take lightly."
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