Sunday’s Gymnastics Results
Kent State 196.925, Northern Illinois 195.325
Eastern Michigan 196.100, Bowling Green 194.850, West Virginia 194.700, Fisk 192.300
Stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Eastern Michigan 196.100, Bowling Green 194.850, West Virginia 194.700, Fisk 192.300
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team soared in the Bowling Green Quad Meet Sunday, Feb. 11, inside the Stroh Center on the campus of Bowling Green State University. The Eagles took first place in the meet with a season-best 196.100 team score, good for seventh all-time in program history. Mid-American Conference foe and meet host, Bowling Green State University earned second place with a score of 194.850, while Big 12 members West Virginia University followed in third with a 194.700. Fisk University took the final spot with a 192.475.
The Eagles (6-4, 1-2 MAC) finished their first quad meet of the 2024 campaign with a first-place score of 196.100, claiming EMU's first conference win of the season and the fourth overall. Eastern Michigan claimed the top spot in four events, including Raisa Boris' (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center) 39.350 all-around victory. With her all-around title, Bois secured her fourth consecutive all-around win and her fifth overall this season.
The Green and White began the meet on bars earning their second-highest team score of the season on the apparatus with a 48.950. The event was led by Boris, who scored a season-high/career-high-tying 9.875. Jordan Jankowski (Frisco, Texas/Independence) was in the lineup for the Eagles, scoring a career-best 9.825 on the uneven bars.
EMU earned its best score of the meet on beam, scoring a season-high 49.125 on the event. The score is tied for 10th all-time with the last time coming in a triangular meet at the University of Michigan and against the University of Maryland, Feb. 8, 2016. Cassie Bergin (Islip Terrace, N.Y./Islip East) posted a personal-best 9.825, topping her previous best of a 9.800. Boris scored her season-best 9.875 for the third time this campaign. Jankowski earned a personal-best on the apparatus with a score of 9.775.
The third rotation saw Eastern Michigan score a season-high-tying 49.200 floor score with Boris' 9.875 leading the event. Alana Fisher (Athens, Ala./Athens Connections Academy) performed well on floor, earning a personal-best 9.825 to top her previous best of 9.775. Also earning a personal best on their floor routine was Jankowski with a 9.775. The senior's personal-best was the third of the meet for the Texas native.
The Eagles rounded out the meet on vault where the team posted a 48.835. Fisher's 9.850 secured the top spot in the event.
Eastern Michigan was victorious in a quad meet for the first time since the 2016 campaign when EMU took on Maryland, Towson, and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Jan. 10 and won with a score of 194.875.
EMU returns to Ypsilanti for its final home meet of the season where the senior Eagles will be honored. The Green and White will compete against Northern Illinois University Friday, Feb. 18, with competition starting at 1 p.m. inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Kent State 196.925, Northern Illinois 195.325
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State gymnastics team posted its third-highest team total in program history to secure a 196.925-195.325 victory over Northern Illinois on Sunday afternoon inside the M.A.C. Center.
The Golden Flashes (7-3, 1-1 MAC) captured all four event titles for the first time this season and multiple gymnasts either set or matched career-high scores. Alyssa Guns stood atop the podium twice after scoring 9.925 in both of her events, while Kennedy Weinpert and Heidi Schultz both earned a pair of top-three finishes.
Competing in Olympic order, the Flashes started the afternoon on vault. Kennedy Weinpert earned her first event win of the season, tying for first with a career-high 9.875. Weinpert has now earned a top-three finish on vault in three consecutive meets. Kyndall Gilbert, debuting a new vault, placed third with a 9.850, which matched her season high. Nastia Rudnitskaya earned a 9.825 to finish just off the podium as Kent State combined for a 49.075. Despite earning their second-highest vault score so far this season, the Flashes trailed slightly after the first rotation, 49.100-49.075.
The Flashes took the lead in the second rotation on bars and never looked back. Sarah Haxton led the way for Kent State and took home the event title with a career-high 9.950. Heidi Schultz matched her career-best score with a 9.900 to finish third. Both Rudnitskaya and Karlie Franz scored 9.850 and Charlie Behner added a 9.825 as the Flashes combined for a 49.375, the fourth-best score in the event in program history.
Alyssa Guns won on beam for the first time during her junior campaign thanks to a career-high 9.925. Schultz earned her second top-three finish of the afternoon with a 9.850 from the anchor spot, coming in third in the event. The sophomore has earned a spot on the podium on beam in back-to-back meets. Freshman Ashley Morgan tallied a 9.800 after earning a 9.750 on vault in her Golden Flashes debut. Kent State combined for a 49.000 team total, the second-highest mark in the event so far this year. Heading into the final rotation, the Flashes held a 147.450-147.100 advantage over the Huskies.
A trio of Flashes won on floor as the squad combined for a 49.475 total in the final rotation, the second-highest floor score of the season so far. Guns, Franz, and Dani Fuertez all scored 9.925 to share the top step on the podium. Franz has now won on floor three times this season, while Guns and Fuertez each have captured the event title twice. Fuertez' score also matched her career best. Weinpert and Zoe Rankin each added a 9.850 as the Flashes posted five of the top-six scores in the event on the afternoon.
Kent State will hit the road for the nation's capital on Friday, Feb. 16, to kick off a three-meet road trip. The Flashes will compete against George Washington, Towson, William & Mary, and New Hampshire at 7 p.m. before traveling north to face Central Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The Flashes will next compete within the friendly walls of the M.A.C. Center on Sunday, March 3, at 1 p.m. when they host Eastern Michigan as part of Kent State Gymnastics' Hometown Heroes Day.
