Case, Goldenberg Earn Top MAC Accolades
Case named MAC Gymnast of the Year; Goldenberg shares Specialist of the Year nod
DeKALB, Ill. – Marie Case, a sophomore on the Kent State gymnastics team, was named the Mid-American Conference's Gymnast of the Year, the conference office announced following the 2012 MAC Gymnastics Championships.
Joining Case among the conference's elite gymnasts was senior Rachel Goldenberg, who was selected as the MAC's Specialist of the Year along with Northern Illinois' Megan Melendez.
This season, Case owned the highest all-around average score in the MAC (38.947) and had both the highest season average in the conference on both the balance beam (9.753) and floor exercise (9.861). In the season finale against Cornell March 18, Case scored career highs in both events – 9.925 on the beam and 9.950 on the floor – which both rank in the top 10 in Kent State history. She was also selected as the MAC's Gymnast of the Week four times, including the final three weeks of the season.
Goldenberg was the Mid-American Conference's top performer on the vault throughout the 2012 regular season, averaging 9.833 to lead the MAC while posting the highest single score (9.900) leading to the MAC Championship. Goldenberg was also a top performer on the floor exercise, where she had three first-place finishes against MAC competition. Goldenberg was also a three-time MAC Specialist of the Week honoree.
The honor marks the third straight season Kent State boasted the conference's top gymnast. Christine Abou-Mitri won the award outright in 2010 while Christina Lenny was the co-gymnast in 2011.
2012 MAC Gymnastics Awards
Gymnast of the Year
Kent State, Marie Case
Freshman of the Year
Bowling Green, Jamilah Ali
Co - Specialist of the Year
Kent State, Rachel Goldenberg
Northern Illinois, Megan Melendez
Senior Gymnast of the Year
Central Michigan, Kristen Teubner
Coach of the Year
Central Michigan, Jerry Reighard
