Going into this weekend's meet against Eastern Michigan University, the Ball State University gymnastics team has one positive and one negative affecting them. The positive is they didn't miss any practices due to the weather. The negative is that a head cold has been circulating around the team, coach Lisa Simonton said.
"I've been sick all week and it has been going around the team too," she said.
Senior Kelly Watson, the only Cardinal to compete in every event in a single competition, showed symptoms of the sickness Wednesday.
"She told me [Wednesday] she started to have a sore throat," Simonton said.
Whether or not Watson will compete in all four events Saturday against Eastern Michigan University (3-4, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) will be determined by how well Watson feels.
"If she is 100 percent, she will compete in all four, but if not we will have to turn elsewhere," Simonton said.
Due to the lingering head cold symptoms the team has, many Cardinals were forced to sit out of practice Wednesday.
"[The sickness] could make for an interesting lineup on Saturday," Simonton said.
Saturday's competition will be the third straight on the road for the Cardinals (1-5, 0-3 MAC). Two weeks ago they competed at Bowling Green State University and traveled to Texas Women's University Saturday. Simonton believes going to Eastern Michigan will be easier.
"It's tough, but these trips to Eastern are easy," Simonton said. "We just hop on the bus. The kids who want to nap can go to sleep, and the kids who want to do homework can."
The Cardinals have competed twice as much as the Eagles this season and Simonton believes both teams could have an advantage on Saturday.
"They are a little fresher and not so banged up," Simonton said. "Although, it could be an advantage for us in that we have more experience. We have more experience in going through our routines and fine-tuning them."
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