Gymnastics

Lenny aiming for consistency in competition

The Kent State gymnastics team will face off against the George Washington Colonials at 7 p.m. tonight in the M.A.C. Center.

The Kent State gymnastics team will face off against the George Washington Colonials at 7 p.m. tonight in the M.A.C. Center.

Led by junior Christina Lenny, the Flashes (2-1, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) hope to increase their winning streak at home to 19 consecutive victories.

“Our goal is to be consistent every week,” Lenny said.

Coach Brice Biggin said the Flashes will not be overlooking the 3-5 Colonials.

“You can’t look at any team and take them for granted,” Biggin said. “They’ve done well here in the past, and as soon as you take someone for granted it will come back to bite you.”

This week in practice, the gymnasts remained focused on their deductions from the previous meet against Eastern Michigan. Biggin said the team has diligently worked on improving their performances on the beam.

“We take a lot of pride in difficulty and execution,” Biggin said. “You don’t just throw a skill, you perform it.”

For Lenny, each meet is symbolic of the team’s overall goal to qualify through regionals and advance to the national competition.

“We have to learn from our mistakes,” she said. “We need to do better at regionals. We never do as well as we should.”

Last week against Eastern Michigan, Lenny completed a new bar routine with added difficulty. This added difficulty will be a challenge, but in the long run Biggin feels it will make her routine much better.

“In order for the team to be at their best, Lenny must be at hers,” Biggin said. “She needs to work consistently on bars. She sometimes misses handstands and gets a little loose, especially on her dismount combo.”

Lenny plans to make adjustments to her routine and isolate problem areas where she knows she can improve. Time management in the gym is something Lenny has learned throughout her athletic career, and she hopes those skills will contribute to earning a successful career someday.

The criminal justice major believes the sport of gymnastics has helped her prepare for her professional life.

“Gymnastics has taught me a lot with time management,” she said. “Right now there’s practice, classes and studying. I think it will help me with any job. I know how to work hard, and I know things don’t come easy. Like competing, you have to work your way up.”

The gymnast plans to focus on consistency and repetition in tonight’s competition.

“Nothing makes you better than constant repetition,” Biggin said. “Focusing on quality over quantity everyday helps you to build confidence.”

To the Kent State fans in the bleachers last Friday in the team’s home opener, Lenny extended gratitude.

“I love when people cheer loud; it gets me really pumped up and really excited,” she said. “Knowing that those people are here for us, it makes me want to do that much better. We can show everybody what we have been working for.”

Contact sports reporter Katie Corbut at [email protected].