Eagles Return Home for Dual With Western Michigan

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Looking to continue their trend of record-breaking performances, the No. 21 Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team returns home to the Convocation Center, Friday, Feb. 19, for a bout with Western Michigan. The meet marks the penultimate home meet for the Eagles this season, with the final home competition taking place March 10 against Central Michigan and Southeast Missouri State.

Following the Meet: Fans can follow the meet from home through both live stats, as well as ESPN3. To view live stats of the meet, please click here. To view the ESPN3 broadcast, please click here.

Eagles Break 196 Plateau: Fresh off a pair of record-breaking meets, the Eagles continued their ascent, exploding for a huge team score of 196.600 in a tri-meet hosted by Bowling Green, Feb. 13. The Green and White had a strong meet throughout, narrowly missing straight 49's across the board. Additionally, the team had a very strong floor rotation, posting an event score above 49 for the first time this year. Not only did the team have a great day on floor, but they also earned their best event totals of the season on vault and beam.

Record-Breaking Day on Beam: Not only did the Green and White set a new team record last weekend, but they also notched the best beam total in program history. Scoring a 49.275 overall, the group was led by Natalie Gervais, who posted a 9.925, which sits at No. 2 in the EMU record books. Lacey Rubin was also just behind her with a 9.9, putting her at No. 3 in EMU laurels. Rounding out the group, Megan Hultgren and Kendall Valentin notched a pair of 9.85's, with Hultgren's being a career-best.

Valentin and Gervais Post Highest Individual Scores of the Season: In EMU's meet against Michigan, Feb. 8, Kendall Valentin turned in a performance for the books. On bars, the sophomore posted a near-flawless routine, highlighted by a stuck dismount, and scored a huge 9.925. This marks the highest individual score that any Eagle has scored this season, and is also the second-best bars score in EMU history. Not to be outdone, Natalie Gervais turned in a 9.925 of her own in the tri-meet at Bowling Green, Feb. 13. Specifically, the junior's score puts her in second all-time for the Eagles.

Eagles Rise to No. 21: Following seven weeks of competition, the Eagles have jumped back into the top-25, as the team currently holds the No. 21 spot. More specifically, Eastern also ranks No. 23 on vault, No. 24 on bars, and an impressive No. 10 on beam. On the conference level, the Green and White hold the first-place spot by nearly eight tenths over Central Michigan. The team also holds the highest team score so far this season of any MAC team by roughly six tenths. Finally, the Green and White also maintain the top spot on both vault and beam.

Slocum Named MAC Specialist of the Week: The Mid-American Conference announced Feb. 16 that Rachel Slocum was named the MAC Specialist of the Week for her performances at both the Michigan tri-meet, Feb. 8, and the Bowling Green tri-meet, Feb. 13. The sophomore had a fantastic week, turning in four scores of 9.8 or better. She tied her career-high on vault with a 9.9 against Michigan, and also scored a pair of 9.875's in the team's record-breaking day at Bowling Green.

Rubin Dominating the Last Five Weeks: Throughout the last five weeks, Lacey Rubin has been on fire for the Eagles. Through those five meets, the junior has performed ten routines, nine of which have scored a 9.8 or higher. Within that time frame, she notched a career-best of 9.875 on bars, along with a huge 9.9 on beam, putting her in a tie for No. 3 in program history. Her bars score also sits tied at fourth all-time in EMU laurels. Rubin has provided a solid veteran presence so far this season, only missing one routine in the season opener.

Scouting the Competition: The Broncos come into the meet ranked No. 36 nationally, with their best event being vault at No. 32. The team is ranked in the 30's on most events, as Western also sits at No. 37 on beam and No. 33 on floor. Their highest score came against EMU earlier this season, as the Broncos scored a 195.275, Jan. 17, to down the Eagles for one of the team's two losses this season. Most recently, WMU notched a 194.200 in a loss at Northern Illinois.
Individually, the Broncos are led by Anna Corbett in the all-around, who averages a 38.940 and has a season high score of 39.175. Kelsey Hood has also posted above a 39, notching a high of 39.025. Additionally, Rachel Underwood has had strong performances this season, receiving highs of 9.875 on both beam and floor.

Last Time Against the Broncos: Western bested the Eagles earlier this season, Jan. 17, by a score of 195.275-195.050. Both Catie Conrad and Kendall Valentin competed all-around at the meet, with Valentin barely edging out her classmate with a total of 39.025. The team's best event on the day was beam, notching a 48.925 behind a 9.85 from Conrad and a 9.8 from Lacey Rubin. The Eagles also had a solid day on bars, scoring a 48.85 with a 9.825 from Valentin and a 9.8 from Conrad.

Hultgren Off to a Great Start: With seven meets in the books, Megan Hultgren has notched seven hit routines for the Eagles on beam. The freshman has been rock-solid so far this season, earning three scores of 9.8 or better. At the Bowling Green tri-meet, Feb. 13, Hultgren turned in a career performance, as she received a 9.850 for her routine.

Last Time Out: The team's previous meet was one for the books, as the Eagles erupted for a program-best team score of 196.6 at Bowling Green, Feb. 13. The Green and White were fantastic throughout all four events, with three of those event totals being above a 49. Beam was the highlight, as the group notched a program-best total of 49.275 behind a pair of 9.9's or better. Natalie Gervais and Lacey Rubin led the beam lineup, earning scores of 9.925 and 9.9, respectively. Gervais' score sits at No. 2 in EMU history, while Rubin's is tied for third. One more Eagle notched a 9.9 on the day as well, with Kendall Valentin receiving a 9.9 on vault for her beautiful yurchenko full. Finally, the team put together their best floor rotation of the season, as three girls scored 9.875 to put the event total at a whopping 49.225.

Looking Ahead: The Green and White will hit the road for their next meet, heading south to Columbus, Ohio for a tri-meet hosted by Ohio State, Feb. 27. There, the Eagles will look to down another Big Ten opponent, as well as defeat Pittsburgh for the second time this year.

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Players Mentioned

Catie Conrad

Natalie Gervais

Megan Hultgren

Lacey Rubin

Rachel Slocum

Kendall Valentin

Eastern Michigan Athletics