The Kent State gymnastics team secured the outright Mid-American Conference regular season title Sunday, defeating Ball State at a home meet.

The Flashes recorded a season-high team score of 196.400 to best the Cardinals’ 195.875 during their final MAC meet of the regular season.

“Our goal all year was to win the regular season championship outright, not to share it with anyone,” coach Brice Biggin said. “For this team to go in and compete the way they did and step up the way they did, not only today but all year, I’m just super proud of them.”

The victory also came on senior day, the last home meet of the season, and boosted the team’s undefeated MAC record to 6-0 and 11-2 overall. 

“We’ve had to fight and fight for everything we’ve earned, and to be outright MAC regular season champions is just such a good feeling,” senior Alyssa Guns said. “We’ve never been outright in the four years I’ve been here, so it feels really good to not have to share that with anyone and just ending on such a high note for senior night.”

Rotation one opened competition on vault.

Junior Charlie Behner led the Flashes, placing second in the event with a score of 9.850. 

Close behind was junior Nastia Rudnitskaya who tied for fourth place, scoring 9.800.

Bars followed during rotation two.

Senior Brynne Tsipis and Behner both recorded scores of 9.850 to tie for first place in the event.

Rudnitskaya was the third Kent State finisher, placing fifth with a score of 9.825. 

As a team, the Flashes scored 49.025. This was the third consecutive meet they scored above 49.000 on bars. 

Rotation three saw the Flashes on beam.

Junior Heidi Schultz won the event with a score of 9.925. This matched the team’s highest individual score in any event this season, which was set by Guns on floor.

Behind Schultz, sophomore Ashley Morgan placed second with a score of 9.850.

Rotation four closed out the meet on a high, with Kent State sweeping the podium and receiving its highest team score in any event this season. 

Guns won the event, scoring 9.900. 

Behner, Morgan and sophomore Gabby Riley added to the success, all tying for second with a score of 9.875. 

This all contributed to the Flashes’ season-best team score of 49.375.

All around, KSU scored 196.400 to beat Ball State, claim the outright MAC title and close out MAC competition with an undefeated conference record. 

This marked the first time the Flashes won the MAC title outright since 2016. They recently received a share of the title in 2022 and 2024. 

“This is our third time [winning the title], but this year definitely feels more special for it being our senior year, and for us to win it outright,” Tsipis said. “We went undefeated the entire season, and that was not easy. We still fought through every meet, and we had some meets that we won, but weren’t our best, so it just feels incredible to win it outright.”

Biggin continued, saying it was particularly special to secure the outright title on senior day but there’s still more work to be done before the season officially concludes.

Two important upcoming meets include the MAC Championship tournament and NCAA regionals. 

“I think this was really the perfect way for them to go out as seniors, but the job is not done yet,” Biggin said. “We have some unfinished business in our championships, and I think if we look at where we’re at right now, we have a little bit of a heads up, but it’ll be tough because there are some really good teams. I think this team has shown how gritty they can be and how much determination they have, and when they work together, I don’t think there’s anything that can stop them.”

Sunday, the Flashes are back on the road for their final non-conference meet of the season. They will take on Ohio State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia at a Tri-Meet in Columbus. 

Kent State defeated both the Mountaineers and the Panthers earlier this season, but they have not yet faced the Buckeyes this year. 

If the Flashes can secure a win over the Buckeyes, this would be KSU’s first ever win against Ohio State.

Tsipis feels this meet was a high point for the team, but they can still do more with the rest of their season. 

“It feels like we might be peaking at this point in the season, but we still have three to four more meets,” Tsipis said. “We still have room to grow and places to go. I’m excited; today was a great day, but I’m excited to continue and finish the season off.”

Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].