Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Gymnastics Set to Open 2026 Season Hosting Northern Illinois Sunday Afternoon
1/10/2026 10:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State gymnastics team opens its 2026 campaign on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in the M.A.C. Center as the Golden Flashes welcome Northern Illinois. The back-to-back reigning MAC regular season champions enter 2026 on the back of a 2025 season that saw the team go 6-0 in conference meets and 6-0 in home meets.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | MEET NOTES
ABOUT THE FLASHES
Kent State head coach Brice Biggin announced earlier this week that the 2026 season, his 35th at the helm, will be his final season in charge of the Golden Flashes. Biggin has had a career for the record books that includes a 2011 National Coach of the Year honor, 12 MAC Coach of the Year selections, 11 MAC regular season titles. eight MAC Championship wins, 24 NCAA Regional appearances, and a 2011 National Championship appearance. He has coached four NCAA Regional individual champions, five All-American honorees, nine Varsity K Hall of Fame inductees, 52 individual MAC Champions, 71 MAC All-Conferences selections, eight MAC Gymnast of the Year honorees, and 153 Scholastic All-Americans.
Kent State clinched a second consecutive Mid-American Conference regular season title in 2025 after posting a perfect 6-0 record in conference meets. The Golden Flashes improved the program's tally to 11 MAC regular season crowns, the highest tally in the conference. Kent State has also won 12 MAC Championship titles in program history, coming in third place at the 2025 edition of the event.
Despite falling just short of qualifying for NCAA regionals as a team, three Kent State gymnasts were selected to compete as individuals in the State College NCAA Regional hosted by Penn State. Charlie Behner (VT) and Heidi Schultz (BB) return to the Flashes in 2026 for their senior seasons. Alyssa Guns was the third Kent State gymnast to compete in the State College Regional. Guns graduated following the conclusion of the 2025 season following a decorated four-year career with the Flashes that saw her make four consecutive NCAA regional appearances, including a team appearance in 2024.
The reigning MAC champion on beam is back for her senior season in 2026 with Kent State. Schultz took home the crown on beam at the 2025 MAC Championships after dazzling with a 9.875 on the team's final routine of the meet. Schultz enters 2026 on the back of two consecutive Second Team All-MAC selections in the previous two seasons, the only Kent State gymnast on the 2026 roster with multiple All-MAC nods in her career.
Kent State has no shortage of firepower returning for the 2026 season as four gymnasts who earned Second Team All-MAC honors in 2025 are back. Nene Alvine, Behner, Nastia Rudnitskaya, and Schultz make up an impressive core of returners with all-conference pedigree for the Flashes. Guns rounded out five All-MAC honorees in 2025 with a stellar senior campaign culminating in a First Team All-MAC nod.
The Golden Flashes enter the 2026 season with a home win streak of nine, after the team went a perfect 6-0 in the M.A.C. Center in 2025. Kent State's last home loss came on January 28, 2024, to West Virginia, a team the Flashes are set to host this season on January 18. The M.A.C. Center is slated to host four meets this season, with two home contests to open the schedule in January before a pair of important MAC meets in March.
LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Traveling to DeKalb last season, Kent State picked up their third MAC victory of the season with a 195.200-193.450 win over the Huskies. Alvine posted a team-high 9.825 on vault. Schultz and Rudnitskaya tied for the top mark on bars with a pair of 9.775's. Ashley Morgan led the way on beam with a 9.825. The Flashes earned their highest event score of the night on floor with a 49.125. Guns posted a meet-best 9.900, followed closely by Alvine and Gabby Riley, who each earned a 9.875.
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
