Kent State University
Illinois
Gymnastics Heads to Ohio State Friday Before Hosting EMU Sunday
2/29/2024 1:15:00 PM | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State gymnastics program kicks off the month of March with a pair of meets. The Golden Flashes enter the weekend ranked 39th in the country and sit 42nd on vault, 38th on bars, 46th on beam, and 21st on bars.
On Friday, the Golden Flashes travel to Columbus to compete at the All-Ohio Meet against No. 15 Ohio State, Bowling Green and No. 23 Illinois. The quad is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+.
The Flashes then return to the M.A.C. Center on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they host Eastern Michigan. As part of Kent State Gymnastics' "Hometown Heroes Day," all active and retired first responders and nurses will receive free admission.
LAST TIME OUT
Kent State posted its second-highest road score of the season in a 196.025-195.425 victory over Central Michigan last Saturday.
Three Golden Flashes claimed event wins in the battle between Mid-American Conference foes – Dani Fuertez won the first beam crown of her career, Nastia Rudnitskaya tied for the win on vault, and Karlie Franz nabbed her fourth floor crown of the season after tying for first in the event.
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 21st in the nation on floor with an NQS of 49.310. Kent State ranks second in the MAC on both floor and bars (NQS - 48.930).
- Alyssa Guns boasts the second-highest NQS on floor in the Mid-American Conference (9.900) while Karlie Franz (9.895) ranks third in the event. Heidi Schultz (9.830) sits fourth in the conference on beam and Kennedy Weinpert (9.840) ranks fourth in the MAC on vault.
- Event wins this season:
- Vault - Kennedy Weinpert (1), Nastia Rudnitskaya (1)
- Bars - Sarah Haxton (1)
- Beam - Heidi Schultz (1), Sarah Haxton (1), Dani Fuertez (1), Alyssa Guns (1)
- Floor - Karlie Franz (4), Alyssa Guns (2), Dani Fuertez (2)
- Karlie Franz has scored 9.9+ four times on floor. Kennedy Weinpert has scored 9.8+ on vault in six 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 FRIDAY'S OPPOSITION
The host Buckeyes enter Friday's meet ranked 15th in the nation, the third-highest ranked team in the Big Ten. Ohio State sits 10th in the country on vault, 19th on bars, 18th on beam, and 11th on floor. Ohio State is coming off of a second-place finish at the B1G Five meet on Friday after posting a 197.000 total.
No. 23 Illinois is also coming off a second-place finish in the other B1G Five meet, scoring 196.850. Illinois ranks 33rd in the nation on vault, 16th on bars, 25th on beam, and 30th on floor.
Bowling Green comes into Friday's meet fresh off of the squad's best performance of the season, a 195.925 showing against LIU. The Falcons rank 58th nationally overall, sitting 56th on vault, bars, and beam and 60th on floor. The Flashes will face Bowling Green once more in March when the Falcons travel to Kent on March 17.
SCOUTING SUNDAY'S OPPOSITION
Eastern Michigan comes into Sunday's meet fresh off of a 195.525 showing against Northern Illinois last weekend. The Eagles rank 42nd nationally as a squad, sitting 52nd on vault, 46th on bars, 39th on beam, and 56th in the country on floor.
Raisa Boris leads EMU with 318.8 points this season and either leads or is second on the team in NQS on all four events. Boris has been named the MAC Gymnast of the Week three times this season. Ella Chemotti (9.860) and Boris (9.850) sit first and second in the conference in NQS on beam. Boris also ranks fifth on bars (9.840) and eighth on floor (9.870).
UP NEXT
The Flashes head back to the Mitten State on Sunday, March 10, to square off with Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. The MAC meet is set to start at 1 p.m.
Kent State wraps up the home portion of the 2024 schedule with its senior day celebration on Sunday, March 17, at 1 p.m. when the Flashes take on Bowling Green.
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.
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