Coming off a victory over Penn State, the Kent State gymnastics team headed home for the season’s first meet in Kent and did not disappoint.

The Flashes defeated their first conference opponent, Western Michigan, as well as non-conference George Washington Friday night at the M.A.C. Center. Kent State swept the floor with its opponents, placing first in all four events, as well as the All Around.

“We were excited,” Flashes coach Brice Biggin said. “We love competing at home. We got a great crowd tonight.”

The Flashes finished with a score of 194.675 to top the Broncos (194.125), and the Colonials (193.875).

However, the total outcome wasn’t what the Flashes had expected for their first home meet.

“Usually we perform a little bit better,” Biggin said. “It was a disappointment for us. We need to make some corrections there.”

Kent State started strong, performing well on the vault with an overall score of 48.850 and the uneven bars with a score of 49.150, but the beam pushed them quickly in the wrong direction with their lowest score of the night, a 47.575.

“We had a good start on vault and had a little mishap on bars, but we finished strong,” junior Marie Case said. “In beam we didn’t perform the way we should, but we were able to pull it off on floor and bring it home for the win.”

Case was the standout of the night, placing first in the beam and floor, scoring a 9.800 and 9.925, respectively. She also tied for third in bars with a score of 9.850, which solidified her first place spot in the All Around with a score of 39.200.

“Marie is our golden ticket,” sophomore Amiah Mims said. “She is absolutely phenomenal.”

Seniors Rachel Guida and Lindsey Runyan also placed during the meet. Guida placed first in bars with a score of 9.900 and placed third in the vault with a score of 9.825. Runyan placed in second in bars with a score of 9.875.

Next Saturday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m., the Flashes travel to Anderson Area on Saturday at 4 p.m. to compete against Bowling Green.

“We have to get a good week of practice,” Case said. “We have to hit consistent routines. We have to get confidence in everybody. I think as long as we go there and do our jobs we should come out on top.”

Contact Lily Flynn at [email protected].