Kent State University
Central Michigan
Gymnastics Set for MAC Showdown with Central Michigan
2/23/2024 2:22:00 PM | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State gymnastics team gets back into the swing of conference action on Saturday, Feb. 24, as the Golden Flashes travel to face Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
The Flashes Flashes finished fourth at the George Washington quint meet last Friday in Washington D.C., scoring 195.125.
Alyssa Guns earned her fourth top-three finish on floor with an electric routine that earned a 9.900 in the final rotation, while Dani Fuertez, Zoe Rankin, and Gabby Riley all set or matched season- or career-highs to lead the Golden Flashes. Fuertez scored a 9.800 to set a new career best on bars, Riley posted a new PR on beam with a 9.850, and Rankin matched her career high for the fourth time this season with a 9.850.
QUICK STICKS
- Kent State has set two of the three-highest totals in program history this season with a 197.725 at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic in January and a 196.925 against NIU on Feb. 11.
- The Flashes rank 18th in the nation on floor and first in the Mid-American Conference with an average of 49.321.
- Alyssa Guns boasts the highest average on floor in the Mid-American Conference (9.892). Karlie Franz (9.879) ranks third in the conference in the event and Heidi Schultz (9.842) is tied for ninth.
- Heidi Schultz leads the MAC with a 9.838 average on beam.
- Alyssa Guns was named the MAC Specialist of the Week last Tuesday after winning on beam and floor against NIU with a 9.925 on each event.
- Average leaders: Kennedy Weinpert (vault - 9.817), Heidi Schultz (bars - 9.819; beam - 9.838), Alyssa Guns (floor - 9.892).
- Six Flashes have claimed event victories so far this season - Karlie Franz thrice on floor, both Alyssa Guns and Dani Fuertez twice on floor, Guns, Heidi Schultz and Sarah Haxton once on beam, Haxton once on bars, and Kennedy Weinpert once on vault. Schultz leads the team with seven podium finishes.
- Karlie Franz has scored 9.8+ four times on both bars and floor. Kennedy Weinpert has scored 9.8+ on vault in five consecutive meets.
THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM
Alyssa Guns was named the Mid-American Conference Specialist of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 13, for the third time in her career. Guns won a pair of events to lead Kent State to a 196.925 team total on Sunday against Northern Illinois, the third-highest score in program history. The junior earned a career-high 9.925 on beam to tie for the event crown. She also tied with two other Golden Flashes, Karlie Franz and Dani Fuertez, to win on floor with another 9.925.
This marks the first weekly award recognition for Guns this season after being named Specialist of the Week twice during her sophomore campaign.
TEN-NESSEE
The Flashes placed second at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic on Jan. 19 with a program-record 197.725. Kent State also set new program-best scores on floor (49.675) and tied the highest-ever results on bars (49.500) and second-highest on vault (49.300). Including exhibitions, the Flashes hit on 32/32 routines.
Karlie Franz won on floor after she scored a perfect 10.000, the first Kent State gymnast to do so since Jessie James in 2004 and the first MAC gymnast to go perfect on floor since 2005. Alyssa Guns and Heidi Schultz each received a 10.00 from one judge, finishing second in the meet with a 9.975 each. On bars, five gymnasts set or matched their career-highs, led by Kyndall Gilbert's 9.925.
Nene Alvine and Nastia Rudnitskaya each finished third with a 9.900, with Alvine on beam and Rudnitskaya on vault. In total, 15 of the Flashes' 24 routines on the night set or tied personal bests.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Central Michigan enters Saturday's meet ranked 40th in the nation. The Chippewas rank 35th on vault, 38th on bars, 50th on beam, and 32nd on floor. CMU is coming off of a 195.625-191.475 win over Bowling Green on Friday.
Luciana Alvarado-Reid leads Central Michigan with 264.25 points so far this season and has set or matched PRs on all four events during her sophomore campaign. Alvarado-Reid ranks second in the MAC with a 39.138 all-around average.
Halle Hornbacher was named the MAC Specialist of the Week on Tuesday after tying her career-best score with a 9.925 on floor against BG.
Christine MacDonald, mom of Kent State baseball player Lance MacDonald, is in her fifth season at the helm of the Central Michigan program and 30th overall in Mount Pleasant. She sports a 51-32 record as head coach.
UP NEXT
The Flashes will compete in a pair of meets next weekend to open the month of March. On Friday, March 1, the Flashes will wrap up the road swing at Ohio State, where they will face the Buckeyes as well as Illinois and Bowling Green. Two days later, the Flashes will return to the M.A.C. Center to compete against Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m. as part of Hometown Heroes Day.
FOLLOW THE FLASHES
For more information on the Kent State gymnastics team, follow Kent State Gymnastics on Instagram, X and Facebook, and visit kentstatesports.com for additional information.
Players Mentioned
