Kent State University
NCAA Championships - Michigan Regional
Gymnastics Travels to Ann Arbor for Michigan Regional
4/3/2024 1:01:00 PM | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio – The 2024 Mid-American Conference Regular Season Co-Champion Kent State gymnastics team returns to the NCAA Championships this week, heading to Ann Arbor for the squad's first regional appearance since the 2021 campaign.
The Golden Flashes, who rank No. 23 in the nation, will compete against No. 8 Alabama, No. 25 Penn State, and host No. 11 Michigan. The meet will be broadcast live on ESPN+ starting at 1 p.m.
For fans making the trip to Ann Arbor, tickets can be found here.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Nastia Rudnitskaya tied for the win on vault as the Kent State gymnastics team placed third at the 2024Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Ball State.
The Golden Flashes earned a 196.325 total, highlighted by the highest vault score in program history. The vault team combined to score a 49.500 as five of the six routines either set or matched career highs.
Rudnitskaya's career-high 9.925 propelled her to the top of the podium, while Charlie Behner, Mya Migliore, and Zoe Rankin all medaled after each scored a career-best 9.900 to tie for third.
QUICK STICKS
- Kent State has set five of the six-highest totals in program history this season 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.
- Kent State has also set program records in three of the four events. The Flashes went 49.500 on vault at the MAC Championships and a 49.300 against Eastern Michigan and at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic, which ties for the third-highest all-time. Two other event records were set in Tennessee as the Flashes scored a 49.500 on bars, tying a record that had stood since 2004, and 49.675 on floor. Kent State's 49.600 on floor against Bowling Green ties for fourth-best in the record book.
- The Flashes are ranked in the RoadToNationals poll for the third week in a row, clocking in at No. 23 in the nation for the second consecutive week. The Flashes are the lone MAC squad in the top 25, ranking 18th on floor and 21st 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 March 17. 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. The Flashes placed third at the MAC Championships on March 23, finishing behind the Cardinals and conference champ Western Michigan.
- Kent State earned its first team regional berth since 2021 this season and is one of two teams to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Flashes rank 23rd in the country and will face No. 11 Michigan, No. 9 Alabama, and No. 25 Penn State in the second round of the Ann Arbor Regional, while Ball State will go head-to-head with Illinois in the first round for a chance to compete against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 16 NC State, and No. 17 Ohio State in the second session of the regional's second round.
- Karlie Franz scored a perfect 10.000 on floor at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic back in January, becoming 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.Â
- Event wins this season:
    - Vault - Nastia Rudnitskaya (3), Kyndall Gilbert (2), Kennedy Weinpert (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.
- Nastia Rudnitskaya is the only Golden Flash this season to compete on all four events. She has competed in every meet on vault and bars and has done three beam and four floor routines. No Kent State gymnast has competed in the all-around this season.
- Kennedy Weinpert has scored 9.8+ on vault in 11 meets this season. Karlie Franz has scored 9.9+ seven times on floor. Sarah Haxton, competing exclusively on bars and beam, has hit on 23 of 24 routines.
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.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Alabama enters Thursday's meet ranked eighth in the nation and is coming off a second-place finish at the SEC Championships. The Crimson Tide sport a 197.805 NQS and rank ninth on vault, fourth on bars, sixth on beam, and 12th on floor.
Led by Sierra Brooks and Gabby Wilson, Michigan enters the postseason with a 197.545 NQS. Michigan is best on floor, where they rank fourth in the nation. The Wolverines sit 14th nationally on both vault and bars and 13th on beam.
Penn State heads to Michigan as the No. 25 team in the nation after placing eighth at the Big Ten Championships. Led by WCGA North East Region Co-Gymnast of the Year Ava Piedrahita and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Kalea McElligott, the Nittany Lions rank 21st on vault, 34th on bars, 23rd on beam, and 31st on floor.Â
Thursday's second session will include No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 16 NC State, No. 17 Ohio State, and either Illinois or Ball State. The top two teams from each session will advance to Saturday.
LAST TIME IN ANN ARBOR...
The last time Kent State made the trip up to Ann Arbor for an NCAA Championships meet, good things happened. The Flashes last competed in the Ann Arbor Regional in 2011, where they placed second in the meet and earned the program's first and only national championship berth. The Flashes finished the season ranked 12th in the nation, its highest-ever national finish, and head coach Brice Biggin was named the 2011 National Coach of the Year.Â
UP NEXT
The top two teams from the 1 p.m. session and the 7 p.m. session will advance to Saturday's Regional Final. The top two teams from that meet will move on to the National Team Final in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, April 18.
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
