Kent State University
Ball State
Flashes Host Ball State for Senior Day on Sunday
3/7/2025 1:10:00 PM | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio – After claiming a share of the MAC regular season championship last weekend in Bowling Green, the Kent State gymnastics team returns to the M.A.C. Center for the final time this season on Sunday to host Ball State on senior day. The meet is set to begin at 1 p.m. and the first 100 fans in attendance will receive a Kent State Gymnastics tumbler.
ABOUT THE FLASHES
The Flashes are currently on the bubble of NCAA regional qualification, as their current national qualifying score (NQS) of 195.285 is ranked 39th nationally. The team will need to put up impressive scores in their final three meets to enter the top 36 nationally and qualify for regionals.
Kent State participated in two meets last weekend, defeating Pitt to fly the flag 195.925-195.650 on Friday night in the MAC Center before finishing first of three teams in a tri-meet at Bowling Green with a score of 195.175. The Flashes' 195.925 total against Pitt was the team's highest score of the season. Nene Alvine led Kent State with a 39.325 all-around score, earning 9.800 or better in all four events. She set a new career-high on bars with a 9.800 and matched her career-high on floor for the third consecutive meet with a 9.875. She also led the Flashes on vault and beam, earning scores of 9.800 and 9.850 respectively. Tying Alvine for first on vault was Charlie Behner, who also earned a 9.800 in the event. On beam, Brynne Tsipis matched her career-high of 9.875 to lead the Flashes and win the event. She was followed closely by Behner with a 9.850 and Nastia Rudnitskaya with a 9.825 as Kent State earned their highest score on bars of the season with a 49.125. The Flashes also set a new season-high on the floor against Pitt, earning a 49.150. Alyssa Guns posted a 9.900 for her fourth score of 9.900 or better this season to lead Kent State and win the event. Gabby Riley tied for third on the floor with a 9.825.
In last Sunday's tri-meet victory over Bowling Green, in which the Flashes clinched a share of the MAC regular season championship, Kent State recorded a team score of 195.175. The big highlight for the Flashes was their opening routine on bars, where they eclipsed their season-high set just two days before against Pitt by recording a 49.275, the team's highest score in any event this season. Tsipis, Behner, and Rudnitskaya each earned a 9.875 to tie for first in the event while Heidi Schultz earned a 9.850. Before suffering an injury later in the meet, Alvine tallied a 9.800 for the second meet in a row on bars to match her career high. Behner led the Flashes on vault with a 9.850, her joint-highest score of the season, to finish atop the event. She was followed closely by Mya Migliore, who tallied a 9.825 to finish third in the event. Guns led the Flashes on beam with a 9.850 to win the event, while Schultz claimed second place with a 9.825. Freshman Jersey Bingman matched her career-high with a 9.825 to finish third on the floor.
SCOUTING BALL STATE
The Cardinals are 12-6 overall and 3-1 in MAC competition entering Sunday's meet. Ball State is still in the hunt for a share of the MAC regular season championship, but must defeat the Flashes on Sunday to stay alive. In their previous outing, the Cardinals posted a season-high 196.900 last Sunday at home against Northern Illinois, the highest score recorded by any MAC team this season. As a result of that performance, Ball State swept this week's MAC awards as Delaney McMahon earned specialist of the week for a 9.925 on beam and Zoe Middleton earned gymnast of the week for a 39.500 all-around score, including 9.900s in three events.
SERIES HISTORY
The Flashes lead the all-time series with Ball State 60-26. Despite the large advantage in the series, Kent State will look to snap a four-meet win streak by the Cardinals. All four meets occurred across a span of two seasons as the Flashes and Cardinals met twice in both 2023 and 2024. Kent State's last win over Ball State came in Muncie in January of 2022.
UP NEXT
Kent State concludes the regular season with one final non-conference meet as the Flashes take part in a quad-meet at Ohio State which includes the Buckeyes, Pitt, and West Virginia. The meet is set for Sunday, March 16, at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW THE FLASHES
For complete coverage of Kent State Athletics, download the official Kent State Golden Flashes app (iOS, Android) and be sure to follow Kent State gymnastics on Instagram and X to stay up to date on news and information regarding the team.
Players Mentioned
