Kent State University
Northern Illinois University
Flashes Head to DeKalb for MAC Dual Against Huskies
2/26/2021 1:00:00 PM | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State gymnastics team travels to DeKalb, Ill., on Saturday to take on Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference matchup.
The 28th-ranked Golden Flashes are fresh off a huge MAC-rivalry win over Central Michigan and a season-high score of 196.375 this past Sunday. Super senior Jade Brown was named the MAC Specialist of the Week for her incredible performances a week ago, setting two new career highs.
"We have known all along that we have a team that is capable of putting up scores like that," said Head Coach Brice Biggin. "We just have to all do it at the same time. I think it is very gratifying for us as coaches, but hopefully even more so for them as gymnasts. We have a ton of talent and a ton of depth. We just need to have that consistency moving forward."
Last Time Out
For the second straight meet, the Golden Flashes started out hot by setting a new season-high score (49.950) on vault. Cami Klein and Olivia Amodei both posted career-high scores of 9.825 to finish tied for fourth place on the event.
The Golden Flashes continued the momentum on bars, posting a season best 49.175. Rachel DeCavitch led the way, scoring a career-high 9.900. Madison Iannuzzo joined DeCavitch on setting a new personal best with a score of 9.825. Two additional Flashes recorded season-high scores as Olivia Amodei posted a 9.825 and Karlie Franz scored a 9.800.
Kent State posted its first 49.000+ score on beam of the season and were led by a couple newcomers posting career highs. Sarah Haxton tied for the individual beam title with a score of 9.875, while Jackie Harker finished in third place with a 9.850.
The Flashes are ranked 21st in the country on floor, and they showed why against CMU. DeCavitch posted a career-high 9.900 on floor to claim her second individual event title of the afternoon. Karlie Franz added a 9.850 to finish in fourth place, while Brown and Toshi Richard tied for fifth place with a 9.825.
About Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois is ranked sixth in the MAC overall with the team's best event being beam. The team has posted a season-high score of 194.825, while averaging a score of 193.913.
The Huskies posted their highest score of the season in their last meet against Eastern Michigan despite losing the head-to-head matchup to the Eagles. The team has recorded its two biggest scores of the season in its last three meets.
NIU ranks fourth in the conference on beam with an average score of 48.404. Three members of the beam lineup rank in the top six of the MAC, led by Mia Lord in fourth place. Zoie Schroder and Alyssa Al-Ashari rank fifth and sixth in the conference, respectively.
The Huskies feature two other top-five gymnasts in the conference on individual events. Tara Kofmehl ranks fourth in the MAC on floor with an average of 9.833. Natalie Hamp ranks fourth on bars with an average score of 9.829.
Follow the Flashes
The Flashes and Huskies can be seen on NIU Athletics and live stats of the meet can be followed here.
Be sure to follow the Kent State gymnastics team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the squad, including live updates during the action.
Next Up
Kent State will look to continue its recent success as the team hosts Ball State on Sunday, March 7, at 1 p.m. The Flashes will end their regular season at Bowling Green on Friday, March 12. MAC Championships will take place on Saturday, March 20, at 2:00 p.m., in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Players Mentioned
