The Kent State gymnastics team secured a win over Central Michigan Sunday to maintain its undefeated record in the Mid-American Conference.
The Flashes pulled out a narrow 195.350-195.300 victory over the Chippewas, boosting the team’s record to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the MAC.
“Winning by half of a 10th of a point was super intense,” coach Brice Biggin said. “But we’re certainly happy with the outcome.”
Kent State now sits on top of the MAC gymnastics standings with the only undefeated conference record.
The Flashes first rotation began on vault.
Sophomore Nene Alvine recorded an impressive first round, winning the event with a score of 9.925.
The second-highest Kent State score was landed by junior Charlie Behner, who placed fourth in the event with a score of 9.825.
Rotation two saw KSU on bars.
This was the lowest scoring event for both teams.
“We had two girls with some major mistakes on bars,” Biggin said. “[Central] Michigan started out with two falls at the very beginning, and then we came out and gave them the gift right back.”
Still, junior Nastia Rudnitskaya scored 9.825 to tie for first place with two Central Michigan gymnasts, and senior Brynne Tsipis followed closely scoring 9.800 for fourth place.
Switching pace, the Flashes had a more successful rotation three on beam.
Alvine won the event, scoring 9.875. Behind her was junior Heidi Schultz who scored 9.825 to tie for fourth.
Sophomore Ashley Morgan and senior Alyssa Guns both recorded 9.800s to tie for sixth place.
“Our entire beam lineup stood out,” Biggin said. “We had a fall in the middle, and that happens, but after that, we had three critical routines, and all three of those kids went out, performed without letting the fall affect them and stuck their dismounts.”
Competition wrapped up on floor, where Alvine claimed her third win of the day. Here, she recorded another 9.875.
Guns also put up a solid performance, scoring 9.825 to tie for fourth place. Her score gave the Flashes the final push to bring home the overall win at 195.350 points.
“We were so close that, if even one of our girls would have gone out of bounds, we would have ended up losing,” Biggin said. “Thankfully, Guns was rock solid for us in the very last routine and has been all season.”
Biggin said that this was obviously a stand-out meet for Alvine, who placed second all-around, but it’s also important to see everyone contributing to the team’s success.
“Nastia [Rudnitskaya] is getting more confident and especially performing well on bars,” Biggin said. “And Gabby Riley is an unsung hero on our team right now. She’s our leadoff on beam and floor, and sometimes that leadoff might get a bit underscored because they’re first up, but she has accepted that role and she has done just an amazing job of going out, hitting consistently and setting our team up for success.”
Friday, the Flashes will remain home again to host Pittsburgh in an evening dual. The Panthers overall record currently stands at 3-6.
Kent State previously faced Pittsburgh last season, where it defeated the Panthers 194.550-193.700.
Biggin wants his team to keep gaining confidence, correct mistakes and secure wins, all which will eventually help them reach the regular season championship.
“Our biggest goal is to continue to work on confidence and things like hitting our bar sets a lot better but really continuing to build on what we have going,” Biggin said. “We have to continue to win if we want a chance to win the regular season championship. Each meet coming up is going to be really important for us.”
Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
