The Kent State gymnastics team’s winning streak was interrupted Saturday night, as it finished last in a tri-meet against Big Ten opponents Rutgers and Michigan.
This was the first loss of the season for the Flashes. The team’s record now stands at 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference.
“Coming in, we were the underdog, being a MAC team, but we talked a lot about showing them that we’re not the underdog,” coach Brice Biggin said. “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we wanted them to, and it was not a good showing for us.”
Kent State recorded an all-around team score of 194.500, trailing Rutgers’ 195.350 and Michigan’s 196.900.
Biggin shared that a few athletes were sick over the week, taking away some practice time, but a lack of consistency in improving mistakes also contributed to the team’s results.
“We’re making a lot of undisciplined mistakes,” Biggin said. “Which is surprising, and at this point in the season, a little bit concerning.”
Biggin said he was disappointed in the team’s performance, but one highlight came from sophomore Nene Alvine, who won the all-around individual title, scoring 38.925.
“Nene [Alvine] had three good events and a solid day,” Biggin said. “Besides that, people were just average, making little mistakes that kept taking us slightly down in each event.”
Beam was the first event of the day for the Flashes.
Junior Heidi Shultz was the top Kent State finisher, placing fifth with a score of 9.825. Alvine and sophomore Ashley Morgan also squeezed into the top 10, both scoring 9.750 to tie for 10th place.
Rotation two picked up on floor, where Alvine claimed third place. She scored 9.875, finishing just behind a pair of tied first-place 9.900s from Michigan.
Alvine secured another podium finish in rotation three on vault, placing third with a score of 9.850.
Junior Mya Migliore also finished in the top 10 of the event, tying for sixth place with a score of 9.800.
Bars closed competition for the Flashes. Biggin said this is where the team struggled the most.
“Our bar group is not performing up to the expectations we have for them,” Biggin said. “I think it’s affecting our overall team score and some of the confidence in the way we approach things.”
Senior Brynne Tsipis was the only Kent State gymnast to finish within the top 10. She tied for fifth place with a score of 9.800.
Overall, the Flashes landed in third place as a team with an all-around score of 194.500.
While Biggin felt frustrated with his team’s performance, he also said both Michigan and Rutgers were more impressive than expected.
“Michigan has a young team, and hats off to them, because they probably put together their best meet of the year,” Biggin said. “Rutgers has struggled quite a bit this year too, but today they did a better job than us.”
Biggin has consistently said their team needs to work on its confidence, and he emphasized this again saying they need to start performing in the way that they are capable of.
“We don’t learn anything from these meets, besides the fact that we need to be a lot better,” Biggin said. “Right now we look sloppy, we don’t look like a normal Kent State team, so we’re going to have to get back to that real quick.”
Coming up, the Flashes return to MAC competition Sunday with a home meet against Central Michigan.
The Chippewas have an 8-1 overall record and are undefeated in the MAC at 3-0.
Biggin said this meet is a pivotal point if they want a chance at winning the regular season championship.
“We have a team that has more potential than how they are performing,” Biggin said. “But they haven’t proved themselves yet with any consistency. Central Michigan is a good team that’s doing really well right now, but if we want to be able to win the regular season championship, we know we have to win this.”
Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].