No. 23 Gymnastics Set To Compete In Home Opener Friday
Kent, Ohio --
Kent State Gymnastics (2-2) is set to host conference mate Western Michigan (2-0) as well as George Washington (4-2) in what will be the team's first appearance at home this season. The meet will begin at 7:00 p.m in the M.A.C. Center. Listen to Ty Linder with the call at http://www.iheart.com/live/6068/
The Golden Flashes are coming off an impressive performance at Penn State that vaulted the program into the top 25 nationally. The team currently sits at No. 23. Kent State finished second out of four teams, defeating host Penn State as well as Towson. They were unable to edge No. 12 ranked Minnesota, as the Golden Gophers were able to hang on to the lead by a slim margin of .075. During the meet 12 personal records were broken by eight seperate gymnasts in what resulted in Kent State's first ever defeat of the Nittany Lions.
Scouting Western Michigan
The Broncos are coming off of their first home meet of the season in which they defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles by a score of 194.975-194.475. It was their second meet of the season. The Broncos had previously defeated Big Ten member Michigan State. Freshman Kayla Weber is proving she belongs, as her performance this past week resulted in a school record falling. Weber now owns the school's all-around record, as she took first in three of four events, totalling 39.300. The record was formerly held by Jennifer Sturgis with a 39.225, a mark that was set in 2007. Along with Weber keep an eye on senior Lauren Bledsoe. Bledsoe won the remaining event, the vault, with a score of 9.850. Her victory gave Western Michigan a clean sweep of all the events.
Western Michigan Series History
The Golden Flashes hold a commanding lead in the series history with Western Michigan, leading by 30 wins at 49-19 overall. The two schools have split their last two meetings, however, prior to that the last time the Broncos had tasted victory was in 2006. Kent State has won 33 of the last 36 meets.
Scouting George Washington
The Colonials currently sit at 4-2 on the year and last competed in a tri-meet at North Carolina. There they were defeated by host North Carolina as well as William & Mary. Senior Stephanie Stoicovy appears to be the Colonials' top threat as she took first in the floor excercise, George Washington's only event win of the day, where she earned a score of 9.850. It was the second consecutive week that Stoicovy was victorious in the floor excercise.
George Washington Series History
In a series back to 2002 Kent State has won every encounter except one, going 8-1 against the Colonials all-time. The two squads last met two years ago in a quad-meet at Cleveland State's Wolstein Center. At that event the Golden Flashes defeated the field, including crushing George Washington by a whole four points at 194.775-190.775. Current junior Marie Case (Erie, Pa.) tied for first on the balance beam in that meet, earning a score of 9.775 to share the lead with former Golden Flash Brianna Skiffington. Case also came in second in the all-around that day, posting a 38.600.
Coach Biggin on the meet:
Kent State will hit the road once again next week where they will take on conference foe Bowling Green. The meet is set to begin Sunday, February 3 at 4:00 p.m.
