2024-01-27 19:23:15
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KENT, Ohio – After a record-breaking performance last week at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic, the Kent State gymnastics team will open its home schedule on Sunday against West Virginia in the M.A.C. Center. The meet is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
Fans can purchase tickets here.
Sunday will serve as Kent State’s annual Pink Meet, this year with a “Barbie” twist. Fans can take home a number of exclusive Kent State Gymnastics items, like car sunshades, phone wallets, car coasters, and more. The meet is also part of Kent State Athletics and the Kent State University’s FlaSHEs Will intiative, which aims to get girls and women from the surrounding communities of Kent involved in athletics while also supporting Kent State female athletes throughout their competitive seasons each year.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Flashes placed second at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic last Friday with a program-record 197.725. Kent State also set new program-best scores on floor (49.675) and tied the highest-ever results on bars (49.500) and second-highest on vault (49.300). Including exhibitions, the Flashes hit on 32/32 routines.
Karlie Franz won on floor after she scored a perfect 10.000, the first Kent State gymnast to do so since Jessie James in 2004 and the first MAC gymnast to go perfect on floor since 2005. Alyssa Guns and Heidi Schultz each received a 10.00 from one judge, finishing second in the meet with a 9.975 each. On bars, five gymnasts set or matched their career-highs, led by Kyndall Gilbert’s 9.925.
Nene Alvine and Nastia Rudnitskaya each finished third with a 9.900, with Alvine on beam and Rudnitskaya on vault. In total, 15 of the Flashes’ 24 routines on the night set or tied personal bests.
SHE’S BAAAAAAAACK!
After a stellar senior campaign, Karlie Franz returns to Kent State for one last ride with the Flashes. The two-time All-MAC Second Team selection ranked fourth in the conference on floor with a 9.905 NQS a season ago and scored a 9.9+ mark with her floor routine in six consecutive meets, highlighted by career-high 9.925s against NIU and Central Michigan. Also competing on bars and beam, Franz hit on 18 of her 20 routines during her senior season.
EARLY SEASON STANDOUTS
Thanks to a red-hot start to the year, Kent State is well-represented in this week’s national rankings. As a team, the Flashes rank 27th with a 196.138 average score. The squad also ranks second in the country on floor (49.500) and 10th on bars (49.300).
Karlie Franz is tied for highest floor average in the country with a 9.950 average and Alyssa Guns sits just behind her in a tie for fifth with a 9.938 average. Heidi Schultz sits 21st in the country with a 9.913 average score in the event. On bars, Charlie Behner is tied for 23rd in the country with a 9.900 average.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Mountaineers enter Sunday’s meet ranked 44th in the country on vault, 46th on bars, 53rd on beam, and 50th on floor. West Virginia is coming off of a 195.025-194.850 defeat to Pitt last Sunday. The Mountaineers also sport a 0-1 record against the MAC this season after falling to Western Michigan 196.000-195.050 on January 13.
Abbie Pierson leads West Virginia with 161.100 points early in the season. The fifth-year senior is the 19th gymnast in program history to tally 1,500 career points. Emma Wehry sits second on the squad with 87.525 points and leads WVU with a 9.825 bars average.
Jason Butts is in his 13th year at the helm of the West Virginia program. He sports a 150-109-1 record as head coach, highlighted by the squad’s second-place finish at the 2015 Big XII Championships.
UP NEXT
The Flashes will hit the road to open the month of February, traveling to Muncie to start Mid-American Conference competition against Ball State. It will be the second time in three weeks that the Cardinals and Flashes have faced one another, last having met at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic. Ball State won the meet with a new program record of their own, scoring 198.025.
FOLLOW THE FLASHES
For more information on the Kent State gymnastics team, follow Kent State Gymnastics on Instagram, X and Facebookand visit kentstatesports.com for additional information.
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