The Ball State gymnastics team is set to host Centenary College and Penn on Friday night, in an attempt to provide the Cardinals a chance to regain their momentum.
Ball State hosted Northern Illinois in their most recent meet. The Cardinals posted a score they were unhappy with. The mark of 192.475 was a considerable drop from their previous score of 194.5. The setback left the team frustrated, because they realize now what they are capable of. That is not what head coach Nadalie Walsh wanted them to take away from the meet though.
“You didn’t give up, you won,” Walsh told her team. They were able to pull out a win, but it was ugly. After struggling on the beam, the team fell behind. They recaptured the lead only after a solid performance on the floor, and some costly mistakes by Northern Illinois. The team has worked hard to move past their shaky performance.
“We had a really good week in practice,” Walsh said. Walsh switched some things up in preparation for the tri-meet. In an effort to both improve their routines, and build confidence as a team, Walsh utilized repetition. Every girl set to compete on the beam, worked through her routine until it was perfect.
“I don’t want them to go into a routine and wonder how they’re going to land something. I want them to know before they hit the ground that they’ve got it – 100 percent,” Walsh said.
The focus was not solely the immediate future. The team is looking at the big picture as well.
“We talked about how we have some conference meets coming up in a few weeks. It could be really tight,” Walsh said. The Cardinals will meet five straight MAC opponents after Friday. The stretch will test the team’s mental toughness. If they hope to capture a MAC Championship in 2013, they will have to compete at a very high level.
Walsh stressed the importance of her team being aggressive.
“If we want those big scores, we have to get after them, and not hold back,” she said.
