Kent State University
North Carolina State
Kent State Preps for Gymnastics Tri-Meet at N.C. State
2/24/2017 3:35:00 PM | Gymnastics
Live Results    ESPN3
Kent State heads back on the road to compete in a tri-meet against No. 16 George Washington and host North Carolina State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday inside Reynolds Coliseum and will be streamed on the ACC Digital Network.
The Golden Flashes (2-7, 1-3 MAC) are trending upward and in a good spot to earn their ninth NCAA Regional bid in the last 10 years with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 194.660 that ranks 32nd in the country. Kent State has set a new team season-high in each of its last two meets and owns the top average (194.829) in the Mid-American Conference.
LAST TIME OUT
For the second meet in a row, Kent State faced some tough luck, posting the conference's second-highest score of the weekend in a loss. The Golden Flashes scored a season-high at the annual Pink Meet but was defeated by Central Michigan, 195.775-195.675.
The Flashes were solid on floor (49.150), bars (49.050) and vault (48.925), but managed just a 48.550 on beam.
Individually, junior Rachel Stypinski won the all-around (38.925) and floor (9.925) titles, while also earning a career-high 9.850 on vault. Senior Jordan Hardison matched Stypinski's 9.850 and the pair tied for second on vault. Stypinski also took third on bars with a 9.850.
Sophomore Kennedy Plude led the way on beam, finishing third with a 9.775.
Sophomore Dara Williams posted a career-best 9.825 o bars and tied for fourth with junior Brooke Timko.
Hardison, freshman Jade Brown and senior Skyelee Lamano all scored a 9.825 to tie for fifth on floor.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA STATE
The Wolfpack (6-8) enter as No. 37 with a 194.440 RQS. Last weekend, N.C. State had its worst score of the season in a 197.225-193.225 loss at No. 8 Michigan. The Wolfpack posted season-lows on both bars and floor. However, they scored a season-high 195.025 at their last home meet on Feb. 10th.
N.C. State excels on bars (48.688) and vault (48.794) to rank 24th and 26th in the country, respectively. The Wolfpack have scored a 48.750 or higher in six of eight meets on vault and five of eight meets on bars.
Individually, Paris Phillips averages a 38.779 as an all-around competitor. Phillips (9.779), twin sister Alexa (9.787) and Chelsea Knight (9.792) lead a strong vault lineup. Amanda Fillard leads the team on bars with a 9.819.
SCOUTING No. 16 GEORGE WASHINGTON
The Colonials (16-4) are No. 16 in the country with a 195.970 RQS and all-around average of 195.728. George Washington scored a 196.00 or higher for the fifth time this year in a second-place finish in a tri-meet at No. 2 LSU last week.
GW ranks 12th in the country on beam (49.088), 17th on floor (49.006) and bars (48.688) and 20th on vault (48.875).
Camille Drouin-Allaire (39.100), Alex DeMoura (38.944) and Jillian Winstanley (38.903) are among the top 30 nationally for all-around. Drouin-Allaire leads the way on vault with a 9.850 average that ranks 22nd in the country, while Chelsea Raineri is third in the EAGL with an average of 9.797. On beam, Elizabeth Pfeiler is 41st in the country with an average of 9.828.
SERIES HISTORY
Kent State is 11-3 all-time vs. George Washington with two of those losses coming a season ago. The Flashes are 6-6 all-time vs. N.C. State, including a 194.725-194.625 victory in their most recent visit to Raleigh in 2015.
UP NEXT
Kent State will make its first of two trips to Bowling Green as it returns to MAC competition for a dual on Friday, March 3. The Golden Flashes will head back to BG for the MAC Championships on March 18.
FOLLOW THE FLASHES
Be sure to follow the Kent State gymnastics team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the squad. Live meet updates will be available through Twitter.
Players Mentioned
