Flashes Look to Continue Historic Season at MAC Championships
3/22/2024 11:11:00 AM | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio – After securing the tenth Mid-American Conference regular season title in program history last weekend, the Kent State gymnastic team turns its attention to the MAC Championships at Ball State on Saturday. The Golden Flashes are seeking their thirteenth conference title and first since 2015.
The seven-team meet will be streamed on ESPN+ with Mick Tidrow & Mary McDaniel on the call. Coverage starts at 2 p.m.
For fans making the trip to Muncie, tickets can be found here.
LAST TIME OUT
With a 197.100-195.750 win over Bowling Green on senior day, the Kent State gymnastics team earned a share of the Mid-American Conference regular season title heading into the conference championship meet. The Golden Flashes tied with Ball State atop the conference table as both teams finished the season 5-1 in conference meets.Â
The Flashes, who entered Sunday's meet ranked No. 24 in the country, won on all four events and have secured their spot in the upcoming NCAA Championships. They have also now scored 49+ on all four events in three consecutive meets. Their 197.100 total is the third-highest in program history.
Nastia Rudnitskaya and Kennedy Weinpert tied for the win on vault, Rudnitskaya and Sarah Haxton earned the win on bars, Alyssa Guns won on beam, and Dani Fuertez won on floor with a career-best 9.975.
QUICK STICKS
- Kent State has set five of the six-highest totals in program history this season with a 197.725 at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic in January, a 197.200 against Eastern Michigan, a 197.100 against Bowling Green, 196.950 against Western Michigan, and a 196.925 against NIU.
- The Flashes are ranked in the RoadToNationals.com poll for the second consecutive week, clocking in at No. 23 in the nation. The Flashes are the lone MAC squad in the top 25, ranking 17th on floor and 26th on vault.Â
- After being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, Kent State claimed its second regular season championship with its win over Bowling Green on Sunday. The Flashes tied with Ball State on top of the conference standings with a 5-1 record in MAC duel meets. Kent State has now won 10 total regular season titles, including two in the last three seasons.
- Event wins this season:
         - Vault - Kyndall Gilbert (2), Kennedy Weinpert (2), Nastia Rudnitskaya (2)
         - Bars - Sarah Haxton (3), Nastia Rudnitskaya (1)
         - Beam - Heidi Schultz (4), Dani Fuertez (2), Alyssa Guns (2), Sarah Haxton (1)
         - Floor - Karlie Franz (5), Dani Fuertez (4), Alyssa Guns (2), Nastia Rudnitskaya (1)
- Sarah Haxton (First Team), Heidi Schultz (Second Team), and Karlie Franz (Second Team) all earned All-MAC honors. This marks the third time Franz has been named to an All-MAC team, the second in Haxton's career, and the first end-of-year award for Schultz.
- Kennedy Weinpert has scored 9.8+ on vault in ten consecutive meets. Karlie Franz has scored 9.9+ seven times on floor.Â
QUEENS OF THE CONFERENCE
For the second year in a row, three Flashes earned All-MAC honors. Sarah Haxton was named All-MAC First Team while Heidi Schultz and Karlie Franz both earned All-MAC Second Team honors. Haxton boasts a 9.910 NQS on bars – the highest mark in the MAC and the 28th-best in the nation – and has won the event three times while sporting the second-highest average in the conference (9.802) on beam. Schultz was dynamic in her first season of competition as a Golden Flash, leading Kent State with 303.8 points. The sophomore competed in three events for Kent State – bars, beam and floor – and ranked in the top-10 in the MAC in all three. Schultz won on beam four times during her first season of competition and ranks first in the conference with a 9.843 average. Franz earns All-MAC Second Team honors for the third season in a row. The graduate student shined on floor once again this season, sporting the second highest NQS in the conference at 9.920.
IN THE RANKINGS
|
|
National |
Vault |
Bars |
Beam |
Floor |
|
Kent State |
23 |
26 |
27 |
36 |
17 |
|
Ball State |
35 |
21 |
23 |
39 |
23 |
|
Western Michigan |
t-39 |
32 |
48 |
54 |
18 |
|
Central Michigan |
t-39 |
37 |
44 |
43 |
24 |
|
Eastern Michigan |
47 |
54 |
45 |
43 |
58 |
|
Northern Illinois |
52 |
42 |
53 |
56 |
47 |
|
Bowling Green |
56 |
55 |
57 |
55 |
59 |
MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
Kent State has won the Mid-American Conference Championships 12 times, with the last victory coming in 2015. Eight of the 12 conference titles have come under head coach Brice Biggin.Â
Central Michigan leads the conference with 18 total championship victories, including titles in both 2022 and 2023, followed by the Flashes with 12. Both Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan boast the third-most wins with four. Out of the six championship meets that Ball State has hosted, the Flashes have won two - 1983 and 2009.Â
At least year's championship meet, Kyndall Gilbert earned a podium finish on vault, finishing tied for third with a 9.850, while 12 Flashes earned top-10 finishes. Kent State placed third behind Central Michigan and Ball State despite scoring a season-high 196.175.
UP NEXT
The Flashes have already secured their spot in the 2024 NCAA Gymnastics Championships, their first team postseason berth since 2021. Kent State will find out its next opponents during the selection show on Monday, March 25.
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
