GYMNASTICS: Rotations released for NCAA Central Regionals
Rotations have been released for Saturday's NCAA Central Regionals.
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Rotations have been released for Saturday's NCAA Central Regionals.
Three Ball State University gymnasts have two days left to prepare for the No. 1 team in the country.
The Ball State University gymnastics team is taking advantage of the extra week of preparation before it competes in the NCAA Central Regionals on April 10."That is the weekend to be the superstar," graduate assistant coach Will Stokley said.Brittney Emmons (all-around), Bibiana Rodriguez (uneven bars), Tiffany Brodbeck (floor exercise) and alternate Katelyn Busacker (bars) will represent their Cardinal teammates in Lexington, Ky. They have eight more days to get ready.Although the stakes may be higher – a national berth is at stake – Stokley said the team is trying to treat practice like they have all season."We're trying to keep it as close to a normal practice schedule as we can without putting too much wear and tear on them," he said.The opportunity to have more one-on-one work with the gymnasts should be beneficial in getting them ready for next weekend."There's definitely more room in the gym," Stokley said with a laugh. "But the more eyes we get on the girls, the better."Rodriguez said the extra attention is helpful, but she also knows what skills she needs to work on and when she's not quite perfect."It's something you can tell when you're doing it by yourself," she said. "But it helps to have a coach there."Stokley said the key aspects the team is working on are clean landings on the floor and making sure they are getting vertical handstands on the bars."The biggest goal is to go out there and hit our routines," he said.Emmons said she has been working on tighter, cleaner lines to compete with some of the top gymnasts in the nation.Rodriguez said the extra week and greater focus on one event has given her the chance to work on the basics. She said the gymnasts are trying to make sure they are having effective, not exhausting, practices.Emmons said the goal for regionals is to "treat it no differently than anything else." Even if the odds are against her, she said she knows nationals is within her reach."My goal is to go out there and do what I know how to do," she said. "I can hang with all of these big schools."Rodriguez said that the team can get too worked up over the regionals meet."It's just another meet," she said. "It's not really anything different than we've done all year."One benefit has been a more relaxed atmosphere in practice. With only four gymnasts competing for time on the different apparatuses, Emmons said there is more time for each gymnast to get the practice time she needs.The team is also looking back at past performances to know what skills need improvement, Emmons said."We sat down and watched the video from the MAC [Championships], to find out what we need to work on," she said.One gymnast who hasn't had the regional experience yet is freshman Brodbeck. Emmons said she has given Brodbeck some advice on dealing with the new environment, but thinks she will be just fine."[Brodbeck's] a pretty good freshman in dealing with the stress," Emmons said.Rodriguez said that the experience of being in regionals in 2009 will help to get rid of some of the nerves she felt last season.Although the team had a pretty good idea of their qualifying status before the announcement, Emmons said she was happy to hear she had qualified for regionals in the all-around."It was definitely very exciting," the sophomore said. "People tell you, ‘Oh yeah, you're going,' but you're never definitely sure until you get the official word."
Ball State University will send three gymnasts plus an alternate to the NCAA Central Regionals, as announced by the NCAA Monday afternoon.Sophomore Brittney Emmons (all-around), senior Bibiana Rodriguez (uneven bars) and freshman Tiffany Brodbeck (floor exercise) will represent the Cardinals in the April 10 meet. Junior Katelyn Busacker will be Rodriguez's alternate on the bars."I was pretty confident they were all going to make it," coach Nadalie Walsh said. "But getting the confirmation is really exciting."The gymnasts were given Monday off after Saturday's Mid-American Conference Championships where Ball State finished in fifth place. Walsh said she made sure to be the first person to call each gymnast to congratulate her.Walsh said the four gymnasts will continue to work on cleaning up the skills they have worked on all season. She said the focus would be on those minor details that can be the difference between a good and great score."We're going to keep doing what we've been doing," Walsh said.Although none of the Cardinals will be favored to move on from regionals, Walsh said she thinks the payoff of qualifying for nationals is within Ball State's reach."In order to achieve something, you have to think about it," Walsh said. "They need to go there and be confident."The MAC will send two teams and 12 individuals to the postseason. Kent State University will go to the Southeast Regional in Morgantown, W.V., and Central Michigan University will be at the Central Regional in Lexington, Ky.On the individual level, Ball State has the most gymnasts from the MAC. Bowling Green State University and Eastern Michigan University will send three each and Western Michigan University will send two. Northern Illinois University will also have two representatives at a different site.This is the second-straight year for Rodriguez and Emmons to advance to the regional competition. Walsh said they should be ready for the atmosphere after competing at the University of Florida this year and the University of Kentucky, where this year's regionals are held, last season."The more common it is, the better," Walsh said. "These girls know how to do their routines. It doesn't matter if it's for one, 100 or even 10,000 people. They will be prepared."For all intents and purposes, the Cardinal gymnasts will be individual competitors at regionals, but Walsh said the team will continue to have a group mindset and they will use one another as support in a hostile environment.Busacker will prepare for regionals as if she was going to compete, Walsh said, although there is no intention for that to happen, as to do so she would replace Rodriguez on the bars. It's the second time she has been the back-up for regionals; she was the balance beam alternate in 2009.Ball State has sent gymnasts to regionals for consecutive years. Before 2009, no Cardinals had qualified for the postseason competition since 2003.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Coach Nadalie Walsh emphasized that she thought the Ball State University gymnastics team was a top-three squad in the conference.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — After the Mid-American Conference Championships on Saturday, Ball State University gymnastics coach Nadalie Walsh said it was "looking good" for her team to send three gymnasts to the NCAA Central Regionals.The coach and the trio — Bibiana Rodriguez, Brittney Emmons and Tiffany Brodbeck — will find out if Walsh's prognosis was correct today when the regional fields are announced.The top 36 teams nationally qualify for regionals, including MAC schools Central Michigan University (No. 24) and Kent State University (No. 28). Those teams and their respective regional sites will be announced at 2 p.m.Individual qualifiers — top scorers not on a qualifying team — in each region will be announced later in the day. All information will be available on the NCAA Web site at ncaa.org.Five gymnasts qualify for the all-around, along with one specialist in each event. Alternates for each event and the all-around will also be announced.Based on GymInfo data released Sunday night, Emmons, who was named to the All-MAC Second Team on Saturday, should make it in the all-around as the No. 3 gymnast in the Central Region not yet qualified. Rodriguez (bars) and Brodbeck (floor exercise) should be announced as specialist qualifiers and junior Katelyn Busacker should be named as the bars alternate. Busacker will just miss out being the beam alternate as well.The Central Regionals competition will be held April 10 in Lexington, Ky.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Ball State University gymnastics team finished in fifth place in today's Mid-American Conference Championships.Ball State was led by senior Bibiana Rodriguez, sophomore Brittney Emmons and redshirt freshman Julie Cotter. Rodriguez finished in second place on the uneven bars with a 9.8. Rodriguez was the defending MAC champion in the event.Cotter and Emmons each had a fifth-place finish today. Cotter's was on the bars (9.75) and Emmons' was in the all-around (38.85).Emmons had two top-10 finishes in individual events: ninth on the vault (9.775) and 10th on the floor exercise (9.8).Close finishes have been a theme for the Cardinals this season. Ball State scored a 193.1 finishing 0.1 behind fourth-place Northern Illinois University.Central Michigan won the meet with a score of 195.6. It is the 11th conference championship for the Chippewas.Central Michigan upended regular-season champions Kent State University, who had two falls on the balance beam and finished in second with a 195.025.The Chippewas and the Golden Flashes almost swept the individual awards. Including ties, Central Michigan had seven individual titles and Kent State had three. Bowling Green State University and Western Michigan University each finished with one.Ball State led the championships after the first rotation. The Cardinals put up a 48.25 on the floor in their first event.In the preseason, Ball State was picked to finish last in the conference.The Cardinals will now await the results of other conference championship meets this weekend before finding out if any individuals will qualify the NCAA Central Regionals on April 10.For more on today's meet, check out Sunday's online edition of The Ball State Daily News.Final Team Results1 Central Michigan 195.62 Kent State 195.0253 Eastern Michigan 193.6254 Northern Illinois 193.25 Ball State 193.16 Western Michigan 192.8757 Bowling Green 191.85
As the Ball State University gymnastics team prepares to compete in today's Mid-American Conference championships starting at 2 p.m., here are 10 factors that will make or break the Cardinals', as well as the other teams, chances:
Which Cardinals will show up Saturday: the team that finished at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference regular-season standings or the team that has the third-highest scores in the conference?
This time, the Cardinals were on the right side of a narrow margin of victory.
The Ball State University gymnastics team comes in to its Senior Day still looking to pick up what thus far has been an elusive Mid-American Conference victory.
The 2010 class of the Ball State University gymnastics team will say goodbye to Cardinal fans and Worthen Arena on Sunday. Ball State will face Eastern Michigan University at 1 p.m. in the seniors' final home meet.
The Ball State University gymnastics team will face its second-straight top-25 team when it travels to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to face No. 23 Central Michigan University.The meet will start at 2 p.m. It is the final event in the Rose Center before its upcoming renovation.If the Cardinals (5-9, 0-4 Mid-American Conference) are to ruin the Chippewas' Senior Day, they will need strong performances from sophomore Brittney Emmons (floor exercise) and senior Bibiana Rodriguez (uneven bars) – both of whom are currently slated to qualify for NCAA Regionals in individual events at the end of the season.Junior Katelyn Busacker and freshman Tiffany Brodbeck are also in the top five on individual events, chasing their teammates on the bars and floor, respectively.Central Michigan (10-2, 3-1 MAC) will be saying goodbye to senior Katie Simon, who will face off against Emmons in the all-around. Simon is the second-best MAC gymnast in the all-around; but Emmons competed well against Kent State University's Christine Abou-Mitri – the top MAC gymnast – when they squared off Feb. 28.The Chippewas will also send off senior Jessica Suder, a balance beam specialist.Central Michigan is 45-11 all-time against Ball State. The Chippewas defeated the Cardinals 192.925-191.525 in 2009.
With a patchwork lineup, the Ball State University gymnastics team put up season highs on the balance beam and floor exercise along with multiple career highsIt just wasn't enough Saturday, as Ball State was defeated by No. 23 Central Michigan University 194.325-193.275.For the second straight week, sophomore Ellie Carrico and freshman Emily Wehrle were each held from competition."We had a lot of girls that we had to rest them," coach Nadalie Walsh said. "We're trying to think about the big picture with conference coming up. If somebody needs an extra day off, we have to make sure we're doing what's best."Ball State (5-10, 0-5 MAC) scored a 48.6 on the beam, including career highs by freshman Nicole Allen (9.675), redshirt freshman Julie Cotter (9.8) and senior Megan Howard (9.675)."We told Nicole, ‘Hey, we're going to need you [on beam],'" Walsh said. "Her confidence as a high-level gymnast shone through today."The beam, which has been a sore point for Ball State this year, was the one event it won Saturday, outscoring Central Michigan's 47.575. Ball State's 48.6 was the 14th-best score in school history.Allen (9.775) and Howard (9.625) had career highs on the floor as well, combining with a career best from freshman Amber Parsley (9.675) and solid scores from freshman Tiffany Brodbeck (9.85) and sophomore Brittney Emmons (9.875) to give the Cardinals their season-best 48.8 on the event. Emmons' floor performance was the only individual victory for Ball State on the day.Walsh said the team had a slow start on the vault and uneven bars, but they came together to encourage each other. The energy let them perform well on the floor, which carried over to the beam.Central Michigan (11-2, 4-1 MAC) withstood these career highs from Ball State, winning three individual events and three team events. The Chippewas margin of victory on the vault (48.875-47.775) was greater than the overall result.Emmons competed well against one of the best all-around gymnasts in the MAC. Senior Katie Simon outlasted Emmons 38.625-38.5 in the all-around in her Chippewa farewell."Brittney is capable of competing against the best in the country," Walsh said. "We're thankful to have her on the team."Central Michigan was also led by senior Jessica Suder, who won the beam, and freshman Emily LaFontaine, who won the bars.Other Cardinal bests came from freshman Morgan Coslow, who had a career-high on the bars with a 9.65, and senior Ashley Jacob's season-high 9.725 on the same event.Walsh said she could be disappointed by the loss but is encouraged by the fact her team was just one point behind one of the best teams in the Mid-American Conference.The Cardinals scored above 193 for the third time this season. In the previous two years of Walsh's tenure, Ball State had reached that mark three times total.Ball State will close the regular season March 21 when it hosts Eastern Michigan University in Worthen Arena for Senior Day.
Chalk it up to a learning experience.
The gymnastics team will head to Gainesville, Fla., ready for its toughest matchup of the season. Ball State University will face No. 4 University of Florida and the University of North Carolina at 7 p.m. Friday. "We're going to put on a good show [and] hit everything," graduate assistant coach Will Stokley said. "If you're up, you need to hit [your routine]." Ball State is coming off its second-best score of the season, a 193.15 in a loss to Kent State University. The Cardinals helped themselves by scoring a 9.6 or higher on 16 of their 20 routines. The 9.6 score is a threshold coach Nadalie Walsh said is the goal for each gymnast's routine. She said she wants to be able to raise that minimum goal to a 9.7 in the near future. Twenty scores of 9.7 would give the Cardinals a total score of 194, something they haven't done since 2004. Stokley said the team responded well to last week's performance. "We had a good week of practice," he said. "We're all gearing towards getting our highest team score [of the year]." One event in which the Cardinals are still deciding their lineup is the balance beam. Redshirt freshman Julie Cotter has been sick, Stokley said, and may miss her fifth meet of the season. The Gators (6-2) are ranked in the top six in all four events and have an average score this season of 196.344. Florida comes in with a strong pedigree in gymnastics. The Gators have competed in the NCAA National Championships the last nine years, including a fourth-place finish in 2009. "This is a great learning experience for the girls to see what we're aiming for," Stokley said. The Southeastern Conference is a powerhouse in gymnastics. The University of Georgia has won the last five national championships. In all, 14 of the 28 national titles awarded in gymnastics have gone to SEC schools. This year, three of the top five schools (No. 1 University of Alabama, Florida and No. 5 Georgia) and five of the top 10 (No. 8 University of Arkansas and No. 10 Louisiana State University) are from the SEC. Stokley, an Auburn University graduate, said the budgets for SEC gymnastics programs allow them the opportunities other schools do not. "They've got the nice, brand new gym facilities," he said. "They're able to bring in the good kids. They're able to get the latest leotards. They definitely get the perks." Unlike Ball State, North Carolina (6-3) is a familiar opponent of Florida's. The Tar Heels and Gators compete in the Southeast region during the postseason. North Carolina made it to the Regional Championships in 2009. In 2009, Ball State and North Carolina faced off in a meet at the University of Kentucky. The Tar Heels defeated Cardinals 194.825-193.35 Feb. 27, 2009. North Carolina outscored Ball State in every event but the uneven bars. But this is a new year, and the Cardinals have the potential to defeat the Tar Heels. North Carolina is averaging a 193.315 this season, a score Ball State has eclipsed once this year. The Cardinals also outscored the Tar Heels last weekend. "If we hit [our routines] this meet, then we'll beat North Carolina – definitely," Stokley said. Brittney Emmons, a Florida native, said she is excited for the opportunity to compete in her home state. "I'm so excited," the sophomore said. "A lot of my family is coming down – mom, dad, grandparents. Pretty much everyone I know is going to be at that meet so I'm very excited to be able to go in front of almost a hometown crowd. I cannot wait; I've been counting down the days." Emmons will have her hands full in the all-around. She will be facing Florida freshman Ashanée Dickerson, currently ranked No. 5 in the country. North Carolina senior Kara Wright will also compete in the all-around. Emmons defeated Wright on the floor last year. They tied on the vault, and Wright won the other two events and the all-around.One unique aspect of the meet will be the crowd. Florida has averaged 6,790 fans in their home meets this year, almost 3,000 more fans than Ball State men's basketball draws. "It's a different atmosphere," Stokley said. "We'll be in the spotlight – the big show." Although the lineup is still in fluctuation from week to week due to injuries and resting certain athletes, Stokley said the coaches are well on their way to knowing who the top six gymnasts are on each event and who they will likely go to for the upcoming Mid-American Conference Championships. After the meet, the team will have a mini-Spring Break in Florida over the weekend, hitting a beach and an amusement park, before returning to Muncie on Monday and resuming practice.
Sometimes, success is just about not beating yourself.That's what happened Sunday as the Ball State University gymnastics team was able to keep Kent State University in its sights for the whole meet. The Golden Flashes, two-time defending Mid-American Conference champions and preseason favorites to win a third straight title, outlasted the Cardinals 194.5-193.15.Ball State (5-7, 0-4 Mid-American Conference) was able to count 20 clean routines in Sunday's meet, allowing the Cardinals to get their second-best score of the season."We brought it together very nicely," junior Katelyn Busacker said. "We didn't have one event that was completely disastrous. We did all four events solid and consistent."Coach Nadalie Walsh said she was happy with the overall performance."I was excited to get a 193 because that should be easy for us, but I thought we had to work hard for it," she said.One reason the Cardinals had to work so hard was because they had to scramble to adjust their lineup at the last minute. Senior Ashley Jacob had the flu and was unable to compete, and sophomore Kayla Kmiecik was limited to the uneven bars to get her to full health for next week's meet, Walsh said."We had to make a lot of changes, so this was a lot of our depth that went out there [today,]" she said. "Our depth went in and did a really good job."One such "depth" gymnast was sophomore Christa Greinke, who had season-bests on both the vault and floor exercise."Having her be able to go out there and do what she did was what made us get our 193," Walsh said. "She did a great job."Ball State was fortunate not to lose another gymnast during the meet. Senior Bibiana Rodriguez landed short on her vault and came off limping. She was able to regroup to compete on the bars, adjusting her routine and salvaging a 9.6."It just wasn't her best performance," Walsh said. "We depend on her big score [on bars]. It's just a matter of being able to shake it off and go to the next event."Another key matchup on Sunday was between two of the top all-around gymnasts in the MAC. Kent State's Christine Abou-Mitri, the top scoring gymnast in the conference this year, held off Ball State's Brittney Emmons 39.1-38.975."Being able to compete against her was really cool," Emmons said. "It does show that I have the potential to be just as good."Emmons had one of her best performances of the year, scoring above a 9.7 on all four events for the second time this season."I was very excited to see some of my better scores to come out at this meet," she said. "There's still a little room for improvement here and there, though."She said her goal now is to push her score above 39 regularly and be able to consistency compete with the top gymnasts in the conference and region.Two career bests were posted Sunday: freshman Nicole Allen had a 9.75 on the floor and sophomore Ellie Carrico put up a 9.675 on the balance beam.Busacker also had her best meet since Feb. 5 against Illinois State University. Her second-place score of 9.775 on the bars almost did not happen though.When she was standing on the lower bar preparing for a transition to the upper bar, she wobbled, nearly falling and ruining the routine. She was able to maintain her balance and complete a clean routine."That's when what you do in practice counts," Busacker said. "If in practice you give up, then you'll probably fall in the meet."Along with Abou-Mitri, the Golden Flashes (7-2, 4-0 MAC) were led by freshman Lindsay Runyan and senior Sam Heydlauff. Runyan won the bars and Heydlauff took the floor.The Cardinals had one victory on the day. The team won the beam 48.3-48.1. It is the season-high score for Ball State on that apparatus.Ball State will return to action Friday when it faces No. 4 University of Florida and the University of North Carolina in Gainesville, Fla.Walsh said she had been expecting scores of 9.6 or better from her team on every routine, but is now ready to push those expectations to 9.7 each."We're definitely capable of that," she said.For more on the Cardinals' regional hopes, check back tonight with bsudailynews.com.
The Ball State University gymnastics team is preparing for its toughest meet of the season thus far when it faces Kent State University this afternoon. Kent State, the reigning Mid-American Conference champions, has won the title the past two years. Ball State is an up-and-coming program, currently going through the best season of coach Nadalie Walsh's three-year tenure. Walsh said that the team is not worried about the opponent, but instead on its own success. "We're focusing on doing our part and not being emotional, meaning not letting mistakes bother us," she said. The Cardinals and the Golden Flashes will square off at 1 p.m. in Worthen Arena. Ball State is more than halfway through its regular season, and the wear and tear of the sport has started to take its toll on the gymnasts. Walsh said she may rest some gymnasts so they are in peak shape come the MAC Championships. "We may rest a couple people, just because that's what's best in the big picture," she said. "It's kind of heartbreaking not to put who you want out there in the here and now. But we have to do what's best in the long haul." One such person who will be a game-time decision is redshirt freshman Julie Cotter. "We're kind of on a fine line of ‘Is she ready? Is she not?'" Walsh said. "Either way, she'll be back out there soon." Ball State is coming off its first meet win of the season, defeating Illinois State University and Texas Woman's University in come-from-behind fashion. Sophomore Brittney Emmons said the victory has given the Cardinals momentum heading to today's matchup. Emmons will be a part of a key matchup Sunday when she competes with Kent State juniors Christine Abou-Mitri and Christina Lenny in the all-around. Abou-Mitri is the leading gymnast in the MAC this year and the conference's current Gymnast of the Week. Emmons said she has been working on cleaning the details of her performance – straighter knees, more well-pointed toes, etc. She also said that sticking her vault landing this week has been a priority. "All the little things add up to the big picture," Emmons said. For sophomore Kayla Kmiecik, this meet brings a school from near her home to Worthen Arena. Kmiecik grew up in Avon, Ohio, about an hour from Kent, Ohio. She said that Kent State was on her radar when picking colleges. She knows several of the girls on the team and said she looks forward to competing against some familiar faces. She is coming off her best performance of the season, with scores of 9.55 or better on the uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. "To have a good meet like I had last weekend is a confidence booster," Kmiecik said. "Gymnastics is 90 percent mental and I think that's it is key to know that you can do the gymnastics you're training to do." If Ball State wants to think upset, avoiding mistakes will be essential. Ball State was able to connect on six routines on both the vault and floor in last week's win. "We just need to go out there and do what we know how to do," Emmons said. "We always have one little mess up here, one little mess up there. But we know we're capable of…getting those high scores." Walsh said the team has focused on confidence on the beam this week in practice. Last week, the Cardinals had only one fall on beam, but scores across the board were lower. The beam has been trouble for Kent State as well. In its victory last week against Northern Illinois University and Rutgers University, the Golden Flashes had clean routines across the board in the vault, bars and floor. The beam was the problem area, where they had three falls. Although Ball State is a big underdog, the team is more focused on its own performance as it works toward qualifying individuals for the NCAA postseason, Walsh said. She said the first priority is to get the highest team score of the year, raising its Regional Qualifying Score. Walsh said she's happy with where the team is in terms of its RQS at the moment, especially since many of the lower scores should be replaced in the next few weeks. "I look at the rest of the season as five more opportunities to get the best team score possible," she said.
Bibiana Rodriguez was named the Mid-American Conference co-Specialist of the Week on Tuesday. She is the fourth Ball State University athlete to earn an award from the MAC this week.
Halfway through the season, the Ball State University gymnastics team now knows where it stands in regard to advancing to the NCAA Central Regionals on April 10.• Qualifying for regionals is based on the Regional Qualifying Score — the top six scores of the year (three on the road), remove the top score and average the other five. • Ball State is in the Central Region, along with five of the other six Mid-American Conference schools with gymnastics teams (only Northern Illinois University is in another region). • Using that RQS, qualification is based on a three-step process: