Gymnastics
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Sharon Sabin is in her 19th year as a member of the Kent State gymnastics coaching staff.
Abby Fletcher was named MAC Senior Gymnast of the Year and ranked fifth in the conference on beam under Sabin's support. Her efforts earned her All-MAC Second Team honors as well as a spot on the All-MAC tournament team after winning the individual floor title at the conference championships.
With Sabin's guidance, the Flashes' best event was beam in 2019. Kent State ranked 36th nationally. Kennedy Plude led the Flashes on beam, ranking in the top-five in the Mid-American Conference in both RQS and average. Plude finished third at the MAC championships with a score of 9.875.
Sabin was the primary coach for the balance beam in the 2014-15 season where she directed MAC Freshman of the Year and MAC Speicalist of the Year, Rachel Stypinski, at the NCAA Regionals in Columbus, Ohio where Stypinski tied for 13th with a 9.800. Stypinski tied for third at the conference championships in Kent, where the team walked away with their 12th MAC title.
In 2014, Sabin directed the 2014 Mid-American Conference Balance Beam Champion, Marie Case. Case scored a 9.900 at the conference championships, while teammate Nicolle Eastman tied for 7th with a 9.775.
Under Sabin's tutelage, the Golden Flashes had one individual rank nationally, three regionally and four in the top-25 of the conference. On the national level, the team ranked 35th and Case finished tied for 27th. in the region, the team finished ranked 7th as Case finished t-9th, Eastman ranked 37th and Nicole Radon ranked t-45th. In the conference, the team ranked 2nd with individuals ranking at Case 2nd, Eastman 14th, Radon 18th, and Jordan Hardison 22nd.
With Sabin's direction at the NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge, La., Case scored a 9.850 on the beam and tied for 15th while at the NCAA National Championships, in Birmingham, Ala., she finished tied for 23rd with a 9.800.
The 2011 National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) Assistant Coach of the Year helped lead the Golden Flashes to their first trip to the NCAA Championships in program history after placing second at the 2011 NCAA Ann Arbor Regional April 2, achieving the special feat of competing for a national title while also playing co-host to the event along with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. Kent State defeated the likes of No. 4 Stanford, No. 16 Ohio State and No. 23 Minnesota at the regional en route to becoming the first regional six seed and MAC team ever to advance to the national finals. The Golden Flashes completed the season with their highest ranking in program history at No. 12 after totaling a team score of 195.000 on April 15 at the national semifinals at the Wolstein Center.
The Golden Flashes have captured three Mid-American Conference championship meet crowns during Sabin's tenure as an assistant coach, including back-to-back titles in 2008 and '09.
Sabin's coaching resume includes experience at the Big Ten, Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference levels.
Sabin came to Kent State from Debi and Rick’s School of Gymnastics in Pittsburgh, where she served as the head coach. Prior to that position, she served as the assistant coach at the University of Illinois for two years. She spent a year as a personal trainer and aerobic instructor while volunteering as an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma. She also served as a gymnastics coach and public relations assistant for the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Okla.
She had a three-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky -- her alma mater, from 1994-1997 -- where she was in charge of coaching, meet management and recruiting. While at Kentucky, she helped mentor Jenny Hansen, who was the NCAA all-around champion for three consecutive seasons.
In 1997, Sabin received her master’s degree in health promotion from Kentucky, where she was a varsity gymnast from 1989-94. She is married to Ray Sabin, who is a former Kent State wrestler. They have twin daughters, Molly Patricia and Olivia Hudd, who were born on June 24, 2007.
