Senior Rachel DeCavitch of the Kent State gymnastics team set a career high of 9.900 on the beam in a win over Eastern Michigan.

“I feel like beam is one of my events that I struggle with,” DeCavitch said. “So being able to go up there and just hit a routine that was pretty solid.”

DeCavitch led the team in total scoring with a 38.475 overall score, being the only Kent State gymnast to participate in all four rotations.

“I think just knowing that I’m someone that the team can use and count on for each event is a big reason for why I’m doing all four,” DeCavitch said. “I’ve been doing it for four years now, so I’ve been able to get the confidence and the consistency to be able to do that.”

The final score was 195.750-195.450 in favor of Kent State.

The Flashes improved to 3-2 in Mid-American Conference play and 6-6 overall.

“I thought we did a tremendous job on trusting ourselves, being more confident working our rhythms and just going out performing the routines away,” coach Brice Biggin said. “They’d know that they can perform really well.”

For the first time this season, the team’s highest-scoring rotation this evening was not on the floor. KSU’s score of 49.175 on the beam was the highest of the season. 

DeCavitch led the event in scoring, with other notable performances coming from graduate student Cami Klein and junior Sarah Haxton who each posted a score of 9.850. Sophomore Alyssa Guns added a 9.800 score.

The Flashes have now posted at least a 49.000 on the beam in two consecutive meets.

“I think we changed up workouts a little bit,” Biggin said in regard to the team’s recent high output on the beam. “And we’ve kind of put them in charge of having a partner that they hold accountable for and their partner holds them accountable for the way they practice every single routine, every turn, every move.”

Kent State posted a score of 49.150 on the floor, the lowest since the first meet of the year in West Virginia on Jan 13. 

Leading the team on the floor was Guns, who recorded her second straight 9.925 on the floor to tie her season high. Junior Kennedy Weinpert contributed a 9.900 of her own for the event.

The team’s next highest scoring rotation was the vault with a score of 49.000. Sophomore Brynne Tsipis and Weinpert each scored a team high 9.850 for the event.

KSU’s lowest scoring event was on the bars for the second week in a row. Leading the Flashes for the event was junior Kyndall Gilbert with a score of 9.775.

The Flashes next meet is an away game against Ohio State, who is currently the No. 13 highest scoring team in the country. 

“We’re gonna bring a little swagger,” Biggin said. “They have to truly know that they’re as good as Ohio State is, and if we go out there and perform the way we did for most of today, I think we give ourselves every chance of being successful and having an opportunity to go out compete with them and potentially potentially beat them.”

Kent State is scheduled to compete at 2 p.m. Sunday in Columbus.

Michael Neenan is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].