The Kent State gymnastics team will travel to the nation’s capital to compete against George Washington at 1 p.m. Sunday, marking the Flashes’ fourth-straight meet on the road.

Kent State coach Brice Biggin said he is looking forward to the Flashes’ first home meet Feb. 26 because it will allow them to get back into their normal routines.

“(Being on the road) is exhausting,” he said. “It’s really not all the glory it’s made out to be. People think athletes have it so good because they travel so much, but it’s really a large grind.”

Kent State (2-2, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) is coming off a 187.375-184.275 victory against Ball State Jan. 27.

Sophomore Jill Kowalski led the Flashes against the Cardinals with the first all-around title of her career, scoring 38.025. She also took first place on the beam with 9.600 points, second on the uneven bars with 9.525 points and third on the vault with 9.550 points.

Biggin said he wasn’t surprised to see this performance from Kowlaski because of her skill level and improvements from last season.

“We saw some good indications that Jill’s (Kowlaski) approach doesn’t get affected out there,” he said. “She can stay steady no matter the circumstances.”

The Flashes had last weekend off, but were able to use the down time to make improvements, Biggin said.

During the week off, the team performed different workouts and concentrated more heavily on pressure situations in practice. Biggin said he doesn’t feel the team lost any momentum gained from the victory over Ball State and will continue to improve communication and consistency this weekend.

– Amanda Vasil