Flashes Take On Terps to Open 2011 Season
1/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
The Kent State gymnastics team officially kicks off the 2011 season Sunday (Jan. 9), welcoming Maryland to the M.A.C. Center for a 1 p.m. dual meet.
The Golden Flashes open their 48th season of competition with a home dual meet for the first time since 2007, when Kent State upended Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan, 193.100-187.625. Kent State owns a 35-12 mark in season opening dual meets and a 35-11 record in home opening dual meets. The Flashes have won their last 11 straight home opening dual meets, including a 195.175-191.000 victory over MAC foe Eastern Michigan last January. The last time the Flashes welcomed a non-conference opponent to the M.A.C. Center for their home opener was 2005 when Kent State bested West Virginia, 190.800-190.525.
"We're really anxious to get started," said 20th-year head coach Brice Biggin. "It's a huge advantage to open our season at the M.A..C. Center. It gives our upperclassmen that sense of home, and even for our freshmen, who were able to go through the Blue & Gold Meet. They're going to get a chance to sleep in their own bed and not have to worry about traveling like we have the past couple years."
Adult general admission tickets for Sunday's meet are $5. The theme for Sunday's meet is "Club Day." Kent State gymnastics will celebrate and recognize the achievements of local club gymnastics programs. Anyone who wears their club apparel will gain admission to the meet for just $2.
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LAST TIME OUT
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITIONMARYLAND TERRAPINSAll-Time Series: Kent State leads, 3-2.
Last Meeting:The Golden Flashes avenged a 2009 season opening loss to the Terps on Jan. 9 in College Park, Md., by totaling 196.150 points to win a tri-meet against Maryland and MAC rival Central Michigan on Feb. 15, 2009 at the M.A.C. Center.
Head Coach: Brett Nelligan (Massachusetts '03) - 2nd Season
Nelligan's Career Record: 17-14 (.548) Overall, 7-5 (.583) EAGL
2010 Record: 17-14 (7-5 EAGL)
Gymnast To Watch: Senior Abigail Adams (Spring, Texas) won a share of the EAGL all-around title in 2010 and garnered All-EAGL First Team selection on the uneven bars, the floor exercise and the all-around en route to earning team co-MVP honors.
Coach Biggin's Scouting Report: "They've got a very good team. They've always been very solid, and it's a team that I look at as pretty similar to ours. They've got some very good single-event kids and some pretty good depth. I'm certainly expecting them to come here and give us a battle." |
Kent State has been prepping to take on the Terrapins since completing its annual Blue & Gold Intrasquad Meet on Dec. 3. The Blue Team topped the Gold Team, 117.175-117.050.
Scoring for the intrasquad meet consisted of counting three scores from each event, and the judging panel featured Kent State Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen and his wife, Sharon.
Senior Christina Lenny (Brecksville, Ohio) won the all-around with a combined score of 39.625 and won three of the four events, but it wasn't enough to push the Gold Team to a win. Â The defending Mid-American Conference vault and floor exercise champion was simply dominant. She won on the balance beam with a 9.950, took gold on the vault with a 9.925 and captured first on the floor exercise with a 9.900. Lenny also turned in a second-place performance on the uneven bars, posting a 9.850.
Freshman Marie Case (Erie, Pa.) helped the Blue Team overcome Lenny's evening by totaling an all-around mark of 39.350. She took second on both the balance beam (9.925) and the floor exercise (9.875) in addition to placing third on the vault (9.850). Senior Christine Abou-Mitri (Brecksville, Ohio) earned the victory on the uneven bars with a score of 9.875 and tied sophomore Lauren Wozniak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) of the Gold Team for third on the floor exercise with a 9.850, helping her place third in the all-around with a combined total of 38.750.
Junior Rachel Goldenberg (Doylestown, Pa.) placed second in the vault for the Blue Team with a 9.875, and sophomore Lindsay Runyan (Maineville, Ohio) turned in a top-three effort for the Blue Team with a 9.850 on the balance beam. Sophomore Rachel Guida (Cumberland, R.I.) posted a third top-three performance for the Gold Team, tallying a 9.775 on the uneven bars.
HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE
The Golden Flashes have turned the M.A.C. Center into a house of horrors for the opposition behind the support of large, enthusiastic crowds.
Kent State sports a 60-10 home mark since 2000, a winning percentage of .857.
"Our girls have fed on that the last 10 years," said Biggin. "We just don't lose very easily at home. This is a place we're comfortable at, we get great home crowds and the energy is phenomenal. When you come into our place, you're going to leave with a loss. That's the mentality the team has taken."
The Golden Flashes host four meets at the M.A.C. Center in 2011, all with different themes. The themes for the 2011 season are:
Jan. 9 vs. Maryland, 1 p.m. – Club Day
Feb. 12 vs. Central Michigan, 1 p.m. – Family/Kids Club Day
Feb. 27 vs. Western Michigan, 1 p.m. – Flip For The Cure
March 6 vs. Ball State, 1 p.m. – Senior Day/Gold Out/Greek Day
Kent State will also host an NCAA Quad Meet Jan. 21 at the Wolstein Center against George Washington, Oshkosh and Brigham Young. That meet is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.
WINNING AT THE POLLS
The Golden Flashes were tabbed as the Mid-American Conference's regular season and championship meet preseason favorites heading into this season. Results of the poll were announced Jan. 4 by the conference office and were voted on by the league's head coaches.
Kent State also received votes in the recently released GymInfo Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Golden Flashes are in search of their 12th Mid-American Conference championship meet team title and third in four years. Kent State captured its third straight conference regular season championship by going a perfect 6-0 for the third straight season and finished second at the championship meet in 2010. The team's postseason concluded with a trip to the NCAA Morgantown Regional.
Biggin returns a veteran-laden squad with championship experience in 2011. Abou-Mitri became the first Kent State gymnast to earn MAC Gymnast of the Year honors while Lenny and junior Erin Rothrock (York, Pa.) garnered First Team All-MAC selection. Lenny won the conference's vault and floor exercise championships while Rothrock took home MAC gold on the uneven bars.
The 2011 MAC Gymnastics Championship will be held at Central Michigan University on March 19.
2011 MAC Gymnastics Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Kent State
2. Central Michigan
3. Western Michigan
4. Northern Illinois
5. Ball State
6. Bowling Green
7. Eastern Michigan
2011 MAC Gymnastics Champion - Kent State
KIND OF A BIG(GIN) DEAL
Biggin earned one of collegiate coaching's biggest honors in 2010 by being named to the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Committee.
Biggin is one of seven individuals on the committee, which is made up of one representative from each of the six Division I regions and one member representing Divisions II and III. Among Biggin's responsibilities as a member of the committee is helping to select the field and creating the bracket for the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships.Â
Since being named Kent State's head coach in 1992, Biggin has been selected the MAC Coach of the Year seven times, NCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year two times and NCAA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2001. Beginning his third decade as head coach in 2011, Biggin owns a career record of 268-174-1 (.606) and a conference mark of 84-29 (.743).
THE CENTER OF THE GYMNASTICS WORLD
Kent State University and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission are pleased to announce that the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Gymnastics Championships will be hosted in Cleveland from April 15-17 at the Cleveland Wolstein Center. The championship field will consist of 12 teams, 12 all-around competitors and event specialists, all vying to be crowned the nation's best. Approximately 200 gymnasts will compete in team and individual events including vault, bars, beam and floor. The top three teams from each semifinal will advance to the Super Six Team Finals on April 16th and the top four individuals from each semifinal in each event (plus ties) will advance to the Individual Event Finals on April 17th.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Golden Flashes go all-in, traveling to Las Vegas to take on Sacramento State on Jan. 14 in the Lady Luck Invitational.
