Eastern Michigan Athletics
Three Eagles Qualify to The NCAA Regional Championship
3/26/2018 4:28:00 PM | Gymnastics
This is the first season since 2003 Eastern has had three individual regional qualifiers
NCAA Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The NCAA Gymnastics Selection Show revealed Monday, March 26, that three Eastern Michigan University gymnasts earned individual bids to the NCAA Regional Championships, which will be held in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday, April 7. The three moving onto the regional competition are senior Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J.-Holmdel), who will be competing on bars and serving as an alternate on beam, sophomore Emili Dobronics (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg), who will compete in the all-around, and redshirt senior Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y.-Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy), who will act as an alternate for the bars competitors.
NCAA Regional selection is primarily based on the Regional Qualifying Scores (RQS) of individuals and teams alike. Outside of the top-36 teams who automatically advance to the regional competitions, the next four all-around competitors and two individual specialists per event that are not members of the qualifying teams are selected to compete in their respective events.
This is the first time EMU has had three individuals qualify for the regional championships since 2003. However, this field of competition is familiar to all three of EMU's representatives, as the last two years saw Eastern advance to regionals as a team. Dobronics, Rubin, and Valentin each competed in last year's competition, with Rubin and Valentin having also participated in the 2016 regional championship.
Valentin finished her season with an RQS of 9.865 on bars, tying for 18th in the region. Her best performance in the event this season came during the Temple Quad, March 11, where she won the event title with a score of 9.95. That score both tied her personal best and the all-time best score recorded in EMU history, as her and Eastern-great Natalie Hashimoto hold the top positions in Eastern's record book. On the year, Valentin has notched four scores of 9.85-or-greater, and has earned a 9.9 and a 9.95 in two of the last three weeks of competition. Furthermore, Valentin will also serve as an alternate on beam as she ranks 19th in the region with an RQS of 9.855.
Dobronics currently boasts an all-around RQS of 38.995, which ties for 11th-best in the central region. Throughout the year, the sophomore has either tied or set a new personal best in every event, including a mark of 9.9 on floor which she earned against Kent State, Feb. 25. As it stands, Dobronics holds a personal-best mark of 9.8 in both vault and uneven bars, with her career-best on beam coming in at 9.775. Additionally, her personal-best in the all-around serves as a 39.1, which interestingly enough was accomplished by earning only one of her career marks, a 9.775 on beam.
The third Eagle to qualify to regionals was Rubin, who will be brought on as an alternate for bars. The redshirt senior holds an RQS on bars of 9.845, which ties her for 24th in the region. In her final season representing the Green and White, Rubin once again acted as a staple in EMU's bars lineup, where she earned a score of 9.825-or-higher in nine out of the 12 meets she competed in. The season also saw the Plainview, N.Y. native earn a new personal record in the event, when she notched a 9.925 in the Temple Quad. Most recently, Rubin earned a score of 9.9 at the Mid-American Conference Championships March 24, taking home silver in the event and earning a spot on the MAC All-Tournament team.
The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the event winners at each regional will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or an all-around qualifier. Full details of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships field in St. Louis will be determined Monday, April 9.
Action at the regional competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The NCAA Gymnastics Selection Show revealed Monday, March 26, that three Eastern Michigan University gymnasts earned individual bids to the NCAA Regional Championships, which will be held in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday, April 7. The three moving onto the regional competition are senior Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J.-Holmdel), who will be competing on bars and serving as an alternate on beam, sophomore Emili Dobronics (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg), who will compete in the all-around, and redshirt senior Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y.-Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy), who will act as an alternate for the bars competitors.
NCAA Regional selection is primarily based on the Regional Qualifying Scores (RQS) of individuals and teams alike. Outside of the top-36 teams who automatically advance to the regional competitions, the next four all-around competitors and two individual specialists per event that are not members of the qualifying teams are selected to compete in their respective events.
This is the first time EMU has had three individuals qualify for the regional championships since 2003. However, this field of competition is familiar to all three of EMU's representatives, as the last two years saw Eastern advance to regionals as a team. Dobronics, Rubin, and Valentin each competed in last year's competition, with Rubin and Valentin having also participated in the 2016 regional championship.
Valentin finished her season with an RQS of 9.865 on bars, tying for 18th in the region. Her best performance in the event this season came during the Temple Quad, March 11, where she won the event title with a score of 9.95. That score both tied her personal best and the all-time best score recorded in EMU history, as her and Eastern-great Natalie Hashimoto hold the top positions in Eastern's record book. On the year, Valentin has notched four scores of 9.85-or-greater, and has earned a 9.9 and a 9.95 in two of the last three weeks of competition. Furthermore, Valentin will also serve as an alternate on beam as she ranks 19th in the region with an RQS of 9.855.
Dobronics currently boasts an all-around RQS of 38.995, which ties for 11th-best in the central region. Throughout the year, the sophomore has either tied or set a new personal best in every event, including a mark of 9.9 on floor which she earned against Kent State, Feb. 25. As it stands, Dobronics holds a personal-best mark of 9.8 in both vault and uneven bars, with her career-best on beam coming in at 9.775. Additionally, her personal-best in the all-around serves as a 39.1, which interestingly enough was accomplished by earning only one of her career marks, a 9.775 on beam.
The third Eagle to qualify to regionals was Rubin, who will be brought on as an alternate for bars. The redshirt senior holds an RQS on bars of 9.845, which ties her for 24th in the region. In her final season representing the Green and White, Rubin once again acted as a staple in EMU's bars lineup, where she earned a score of 9.825-or-higher in nine out of the 12 meets she competed in. The season also saw the Plainview, N.Y. native earn a new personal record in the event, when she notched a 9.925 in the Temple Quad. Most recently, Rubin earned a score of 9.9 at the Mid-American Conference Championships March 24, taking home silver in the event and earning a spot on the MAC All-Tournament team.
The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the event winners at each regional will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or an all-around qualifier. Full details of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships field in St. Louis will be determined Monday, April 9.
Action at the regional competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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