Williams and Fletcher Earn Trip to NCAA Regionals
3/25/2019 5:55:00 PM | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State gymnastics team will send two individuals to NCAA Regionals on Friday, April 5 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Senior Dara Williams and sophomore Abby Fletcher will represent the Golden Flashes on bars and floor, respectively.
Williams will compete on bars during Session 1 on April 5 at 2 p.m., while Fletcher will compete on floor in Session 2 on April 5 at 7 p.m.
"We are excited for Dara and Abby to have the chance to compete at the NCAA Regional Championships," said Head Coach Brice Biggin. "They have both had great years and are very deserving of making it to this prestigious competition."
Kent State finished the season ranked 38th in the country, narrowly missing an NCAA Regionals appearance as a team. The Flashes finished the season as the second-highest ranked Mid-American Conference team and finished in fourth place at the 2019 MAC Championships.
Williams was selected to the All-MAC Second Team after her impressive season. She has the best average in the MAC on bars (9.809) and ranks second on vault (9.789). Williams is one of just three MAC competitors with a top-six NQS on multiple events. She has finished in the top-five in 12 out of 14 MAC events and has recorded 10 individual event titles on the season, including seven first-place finishes in MAC competition and a first-place finish on bars at the 2019 MAC Championships. The team captain recorded career-highs on bars (9.925) and vault (9.900) earlier this season.
Fletcher has competed on vault, beam and floor for the Flashes this year. She is one of 11 MAC gymnasts who rank in the top-15 in multiple events, ranking fourth on floor (9.885) and 14th on beam (9.790). She is the top scorer (322.000) for 38th-ranked Kent State. Across her three events this season, Fletcher has scored 9.800+ 14 times, has six wins and has hit on 35/36 routines (.972). Four of her wins came on the floor, where she has scored 9.900+ three times, including a 9.900 first-place finish on floor at the 2019 MAC Championships. Fletcher has recorded career-highs on both floor (9.925) and vault (9.850) this season.
The top two teams and the top all-around competitor (who is not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the top event specialist at each regional site who is not part of an advancing team or all-around competitor, will advance to the national championships in that event only.
The national championships will take place April 19-20 in Fort Worth, Texas at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. The championship event is hosted by Texas Woman's University and Knight Eady.
For tickets and information regarding the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships, log on to www.NCAA.com/wgymnastics. The complete 2019 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships bracket is available online at ncaa.com.
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.
Ann Arbor Regional (University of Michigan, host)
Teams
UCLA
*Michigan
Alabama
Nebraska
Penn State
Ohio State
West Virginia
Illinois
Central Michigan
All-Around Competitors
Mary Jane Otto, Illinois
Denelle Pedrick, Central Michigan
Karen Howell, Illinois
Emili Dobronics, Eastern Michigan
Individual Event Specialists
Vault – Kasey Meeks, Illinois
Vault – Kayla Baddeley, University of Illinois at Chicago
Vault – Allie Smith, Eastern Michigan
Vault – Riley Mahoney, University of Illinois at Chicago
Uneven Bars – Serena Baker, University of Illinois at Chicago
Uneven Bars – Cortney Bezold, Eastern Michigan
Uneven Bars – Gianna Plaksa, Central Michigan
Uneven Bars – Dara Williams, Kent State
Balance Beam – Mia Lord, Northern Illinois
Balance Beam – Shaylah Scott, Illinois
Balance Beam – Emerson Hurst, Towson
Balance Beam – Mary Elle Arduino, Towson
Floor Exercise – Anna Martucci, Northern Illinois
Floor Exercise – Abby Fletcher, Kent State
Floor Exercise – Kylie Noonan, Illinois
Floor Exercise – Alisa Sheremeta, University of Illinois at Chicago
Players Mentioned
