KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The 2021 Mid-American Conference Gymnastics Championship will take place on Saturday March, 20th in Kalamzoo, Michigan on the campus of Northern Illinois University. The one day Championship will feature all seven MAC Gymnastics teams as they face off for one trophy.

Ball State
The stage is set for Ball State gymnastics this weekend, as the Cardinals travel to Western Michigan for the MAC Women's Gymnastics Championships. In head-to-head scoring, the Cardinals have defeated every team in the MAC at least once this season. All of the details are no longer details - tenths of a point matter a great deal. Last week, the Cardinals scored a solid 195.650 in a quad meet at Central Michigan. CMU won the meet, which for most observers was a preview to this weekend's championships meet. The Cardinals delivered a notable bars score as a team (49.075) but they know there's more on the table to capture as they chase the MAC title and a postseason berth. The Cardinals have earned the 34th spot in the national standings so far - the top 36 teams advance to the NCAA Regional. A solid score in the MAC meet this Saturday could place the Cardinals in the regional as a team for the first time.

Bowling Green
Bowling Green heads to the MAC Championships on Saturday, March 20. The meet will take place at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich. Last time out for the Falcons Taylor Jensen posted the eighth-highest all-around score in program history as the Falcons honored four seniors for Senior Night Friday evening in Anderson Arena. Bowling Green scored season-high scores in two of the four rotations, beginning with a 48.950 on vault. The Falcons closed the meet at 48.925 on floor. The Falcons were hampered by falls on bars and beam.

Central Michigan
The Central Michigan gymnastics team will look to return to the winner's circle on Saturday when it competes in the Mid-American Conference Championships at Western Michigan's University Arena.The Chippewas are vying for their 17th first-place finish at the MAC Championships; added to their nine MAC regular-season titles, the Chippewas have captured a total of 26 MAC crowns. All three numbers are conference records. CMU's last title at the MAC Championships came in 2018. They were second in 2019 and there was no event held in 2020 due to COVID. The Chippewas carry a league-best 195.322 average score and would appear to be peaking at the right time. They have posted scored of 196.425 in winning each of their last two meets, their own quad and a quad at Illinois State. The 196.425 is the highest score posted by a MAC team this season.

Eastern Michigan
The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team heads to Kalamazoo, Mich. for the Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Western Michigan University Saturday, March 20. The meet will take place inside University Arena at 2 p.m. The Eagles (15-6; 3-3 MAC) are coming off a season-best team score (196.100) at the CMU Quad, March 13, where they placed second. The host, Central Michigan, took first place with a score of 196.425. Ball State hit 195.650 for third, while Western Michigan came in fourth, scoring 194.500. Eastern currently sits tied for 29th in the nation with a team national qualifying score (NQS) of 195.925. Only the top-36 teams qualify for NCAA. The Eagles are in search of their fourth Mid-American Conference title, with their last coming in 2017 when they repeated as back-to-back MAC champs. EMU has won it all in 2007, 2016, and 2017. 

Kent State
The Kent State gymnastics team will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., on Saturday in search of a Mid-American Conference championship. The Golden Flashes will compete against six other MAC schools, at 2 p.m., for a shot at the trophy. The Flashes have not won the MAC tournament since hosting the event in 2015. Kent State is currently ranked second in the conference heading into MAC Championships and 28th in the country. The team's NQS (195.981) is the highest NQS since 2004 when the Flashes posted an astounding 196.360 NQS. Kent State leads the MAC in both floor and bars, ranking 15th in the country on floor and 25th on bars. The Golden Flashes are led by two All-MAC Second Team performers in Abby Fletcher and Rachel DeCavitch. Fletcher ranks third on floor in the conference with a 9.900 NQS, while DeCavitch ranks third on bars with a 9.875 NQS. Fletcher also ranks seventh in the conference on beam and DeCavitch ranks seventh on floor. The duo ranks first and second on the Flashes in total points.

Northern Illinois
The last time a Mid-American Conference Gymnastics Championship meet was held, the Northern Illinois University Huskies stood atop the podium as first-time MAC Champions. On Saturday, NIU head coach Sam Morreale wants his team to bring memories of that 2019 title and the confidence of defending champions into University Arena in Kalamazoo, where seven teams will vie for the crown. Huskie bars specialist Natalie Hamp (Ionia, Mich./Ionia HS), a sophomore who was not a part of that 2019 team, brings confidence, the second-highest National Qualifying Score on bars in the league and a new accolade on her résumé after being named second team All-MAC on Friday. Hamp, who twice was named the MAC Specialist of the Week during the season, earned a season high 9.925 on bars last week at Iowa State and has not scored below 9.800 on the event this season.

Western Michigan
Payton Murphy and the Broncos will look to capture Western Michigan's sixth MAC Championship and second in as many years on Saturday, March 20, when WMU plays host to the 2021 MAC Championships at University Arena. The meet begins at 2 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN3. Western Michigan won the championship meet in 1986, 1987, 2006 and 2013, while winning the regular-season title in 2020 (there was no championship meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic).