Gymnasts work on consistency
Published Jan. 19, 2007
The MU gymnastics team opens up Big 12 play with a meet tonight at Oklahoma. All eyes will likely be on sophomore Adrianne Perry, who won the all-around competition in the team's meet at home against Illinois on Jan. 12 with a score of 39.150.
"Adrianne Perry had a great, solid meet," coach Rob Drass said.
Her teammates were also pleased with her performance.
"She has added a lot of skills this year," senior Amanda Pezzullo said.
The team won the meet 194.0125-191.0125. Although that margin might seem slim, Drass said a three-point margin is almost as high as margins get in college gymnastics.
Oklahoma is coming off a 1.2-point loss to the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide. The match was the debut for Oklahoma's coach, K.J. Kindler.
The Tigers will also compete against Central Michigan at the meet.
The team's consensus is that its members have focused on improving their consistency since the Illinois meet.
"I expect the consistency to be there," Drass said about tonight's meet.
Pezzullo said the team has also been working on its ability to land routines correctly. She said landings that require additional steps can lead to a deduction of a few tenths of a point, so they are working on not taking steps after their landings.
Although the team competed in Cancun on Jan. 5, this is its first away meet at another university. But Drass said he would not allow this to be an excuse for poor performance.
"We hope to perform the same no matter where we are," he said.
Drass said the Sooners will be more comfortable on their home floor, but in some respects, it will be more comfortable than Cancun for his team.
This is because the girls will be at a university instead of an alternate site, he said.
"It's much more familiar to us," Drass said.
As for Perry, Drass said there is untapped potential in the sophomore who won three events in the Illinois meet.
"We can probably squeeze another three or four tenths out of her," he said about her overall score.
Perry, like the rest of the team, said her main priority is improving her consistency. She has been pretending she is in a meet situation in every practice.
Despite Oklahoma's close match-up with the Tide, Drass is optimistic about the meet.
"I think we're pretty evenly matched," Drass said.
Even though Central Michigan appears to be the worst of the three teams, it should not be overlooked.
Pezzullo is also optimistic about tonight. She said Cancun was fun, but now the team is more serious.
"We're ready to get down to business," she said.
Pezzullo said the seniors have been leading by example in practice to help the underclassmen.
Perry agreed and said the seniors have been supportive when one of the underclassmen has a down practice.
"They kind of kick us in the butt," she said.