Centralight

Sports Gymnasts return The CMU gymnastics program enjoyed a visit from alumni Jan. 15 and celebrated the team that began its championship tradition. Members of the 1990 team that captured the program's fi rst Mid- American Conference title returned to Rose Center to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their title during the Chippewas' home opener against Utah State. Several other gymnastics alumnae from throughout the program's history also were on hand for the event. "It was inspiring to sit on the sidelines and see the young ladies come back," head coach Jerry Reighard says. "It is nice to know they still think about CMU. I know our athletes really wanted to put on a great show for them. It was an exciting evening." Family matchup The Chippewas didn't disappoint, as they defeated Utah State, 192.275-187.275, at Rose Center. Father and son were together again – but this time as opponents – as CMU hosted Stanford Jan. 17. Jason Borrelli, a 2006 graduate and four-year letterman in the CMU wrestling program, is in his second season as the head coach at Stanford. Across the mat was his father, 19-year CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. The match marked the fi rst time father and son opposed each other in a dual meet. "I have pride in our program here at Central Michigan and that we are able to develop so many young men who pursue successful coaching careers, and I have a lot of pride in seeing Jason do what he has always wanted to do," Tom says. The Chippewas were victorious over the young Stanford squad, 33-6. And while much anticipation surrounded the matchup between the father and son, who remain close away from the mat, both Tom and Jason agreed that neither had a chance for sentimentality during the match. "I think the competitiveness takes over right away," Jason says. "One of the things I learned from him was not worrying about what the other guy is doing, what the crowd is doing or what the offi cials are doing – just coach your guys. I wanted my guys to do well just like he wanted his guys to do well, so that was the focus." • Grade A CMU won the inaugural Mid-American Conference Cartwright "Central Michigan University continues to excel in each of the areas of academics, athletics and citizenship with the Mount Pleasant community," says Jon Steinbrecher, commissioner of the MAC. "Michigan should be very proud of CMU and its student- athletes who have earned this prestigious and elite award." Academically, the CMU soccer team posted the nation's highest grade point average of 3.70 for the fourth consecutive year, while the fi eld hockey team's GPA ranked 3232 centralight winter '09 spring '10 CMU's 1990 squad went 14-3-1 and posted a perfect 8-0 mark in the MAC – the fi rst team in conference history to go undefeated in league play. Shelby Root won the fl oor exercise and became the fi rst Chippewa to win the all-around at the MAC Championships, while Kim Lestan took home a MAC title in the vault. The team's title in 1990 began a string of four consecutive MAC championships – the longest such streak in league history. The gymnastics program has captured 10 conference titles – the most among conference schools. • Award – presented to the MAC university that most completely demonstrates citizenship and academic and athletic success. fi fth nationally. The department earned its highest overall student-athlete GPA of 3.12, with 11 teams maintaining a 3.0 or better average. Approximately 52 percent of CMU student-athletes carried above a 3.0 GPA, of which more than 100 maintained a 3.5 GPA or better. The Chippewas had a total of 26 fi rst-team all-conference performers last year. The program tied for second place in the men's all-sports standings and fi nished third in the women's standings. A wide variety of educational and leadership ventures for student-athletes were sponsored by the department, while many community service eff orts were led by individual teams, including reading at schools, working with the elderly, visiting hospitals, serving meals and raising money for the awareness of eating disorders. • PHOTO BY ROBERT BARCLAY

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