Flashes Open Season Against a Pair of Eastern Atlantic Gymnastic Squads
1/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
The Opening Routine
Kent State gymnastics kicks off the regular season Saturday (Jan. 16) when it travels to Pittsburgh for a tri-meet with the host Panthers and West Virginia. The first rotation is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House. Live updates will be available through the Panthers athletic site by clicking here.
Last time out for Pittsburgh
The Panthers, like the Golden Flashes, did not compete in the first week of the season.
Last Time Out for West Virginia
The 25th-ranked Mountaineers began the season with a quad meet at Michigan State with Penn State and Western Michigan. West Virginia finished with a team score of 191.225, more than two points behind Michigan State (193.925) and Penn State (193.900). The Broncos took fourth with a team score of 189.525.
After a few falls on beam (46.300), WVU rebounded with the second-highest floor performance of the night (48.875) to hold off Western Michigan. Junior Naja Johnson claimed the top spot for the Mountaineers with a judges' marks of 9.850. Johnson also took fourth on floor with classmate Amy Bieski with a routine of 9.825.
The Series with Pittsburgh
This will be the 37th meeting between the Panthers and the Golden Flashes with KSU holding a 25-11 edge in the series dating back to 1970. Kent State Head Coach Brice Biggin has never lost to Pittsburgh has won the last seven meetings, dating back to 1992.
The last time Pitt was victorious was the 1991 season (Rudy and Janet Bachna's last season) when the Panthers edged the Golden Flashes 184.300-183.55.
In the last meeting, Kent State beat Pitt 192.175-190.450 in the 2008 season opener for both teams. In her first collegiate meet for the Golden Flashes, Christina Lenny tied with then-sophomore Brittany Kopp with a 9.800 on vault. Kristin Peters, then a senior and now a graduate assistant coach with KSU, took second on bars with a 9.850 routine. For the Panthers, Dani Bryan took first on vault (9.800), Molly Moyer was second on floor (9.850) and Sarah Thompson was fourth on beam (9.725).
The two teams were supposed to meet the first weekend in March 2008, but a snowstorm prevented the Golden Flashes from traveling to the nations capital to take part in the quad meet.
The Series with West Virginia
After Kent State won the first five meetings with the Mountaineers, West Virginia has won 18 of the last 23 meetings to take an 18-10 edge in the overall series. In the series dating back to 1975, the Mountaineers have won the last three meets.
The last time KSU and WVU met was Feb. 3, 2007, when the current seniors were freshmen. Lydia Barrett was the top-finisher for KSU on vault with a mark of 9.675 while WVU's Shelly Purkat took second on beam with a 9.850 routine.
Biggin is 1-10 against West Virginia.
Cannot Make it to the M.A.C.?
Through the Kentstatesports.com, all five home gymnastic meets are available live through K-Zone. Sign up is easy! Just click here and enter your contact information. As a reminder, all home meets and selected away contests will have live updates available. Keep checking the Kentstatesports gymnastics home page for updates.
Rock the Vote
A current poll at college gym fans asks "Who will win the MAC Title." Click on the link and scroll to the bottom of the page to vote for the Golden Flashes!
Going for Two Crowns?
While Kent State is going for its fifth-straight regular season title and its third-straight Mid-American Championship Meet crown, it might as well go for the East Atlantic Gymnastics League title as well. Kent State will face four of its eight members this year.
Both West Virginia and Pittsburgh are members of the EAGL, while both George Washington (Jan. 22) and Rutgers (Feb. 19) will visit the M.A.C. Center later this season. The Golden Flashes only met EAGL-member Maryland last season, losing the season-opener in College Park but registering the win at the M.A.C. Center Feb. 15.
Home Sweet Home
Since the 2004 season, Kent State holds a 37-3 record (.925) in their home gym. This includes perfect home records in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 09. The Golden Flashes have also won every Mid-American Conference Championship meet that they have hosted (1981, '87, '94, 2001 and '08).
Kent State is currently on a 17-meet winning streak in meets held at the M.A.C Center. Central Michigan is the last team to visit Kent State and defeat the Golden Flashes, doing so in the regular season home finale of 2007.
Record at home the past 10 years:
2000: 4-0
2001: 8-2*
2002 4-2
2003: 2-2
2004: 6-0
2005: 7-1
2006: 3-1
2007: 4-1
2008: 12-0*
2009: 5-0
Record Past 10 Years: 55-9 (.859)
* Includes six more wins to the season total as KSU hosted and won MAC Championship
Lenny Joins Elite Company
Christina Lenny closed out the 2009 season April 16 at the NCAA Championships. She was only the sixth KSU gymnast (seventh time overall) to qualify for the championships and the first since Heather Langham in 2009.
Lenny finished 24th in the all-around with a total of 38.400.
"She had a really good meet and did very well on three events," said head coach Brice Biggin. "We just couldn't put the practice in on vault we would have liked. We saw a lot of falls out there from a lot of good kids.
"Overall, for her first time out here, we are very proud of her."
Lenny began the night on beam where she received a score of 9.725 and finished 30th. On floor, Lenny earned a score of 9.750 to finish 34th.
To finish the night, she received a mark of 9.150 on vault before turning in her best performance of the night on bars, earning a mark of 9.775 on bars to finish 29th.
"We are most proud of her for the way she handled the pressure. She looked very good. We sat and watched good teams, and athletes on good teams, take a lot of falls today. It's all nerves. She looked very relaxed and very confident. We were very pleased with her attitude, the effort and the way that she looked," Biggin added.
On the Rise
Kent State's gymnastics team is one of five NCAA Division I programs that has shown the greatest improvement over the past four seasons. In an analysis of the pre-NCAA Championship team rankings from 2006-2009, Kent State ranks second overall for biggest improvement with a move up of 19 spots on the national rankings. Mid-American Conference-foe Central Michigan had the greatest improvement moving up 23 spots.
The complete listing for teams who have had the greatest increase in final rankings over the past four seasons is listed below (rankings based on pre-NCAA Championships Regional Qualifying Scores).
Team 2006 2009 Spots Improved
Central Michigan 45 23 2
Kent State 40 21 19
Washington 41 26 15
Illinois 25 11 14
Boise State 34 20 14
Next Up
Kent State will have its home and conference opener next week when they welcome in Eastern Michigan for the 72nd meeting between the two squads. Kent State is 51-20 against the Eagles, having won the last four meets.
