Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, February 27
Columbus, Ohio
4 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
195.800
at
195.800
Ohio State
No. 21 Eagles Claw Their Way Back to Tie Ohio State
2/27/2016 7:39:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Green and White fought their way back to finish with a 195.800
Complete Results
COLUMBUS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The No. 21 Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team tied the Ohio State Buckeyes, and defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers today, Feb. 27, in a tri-meet in Columbus, Ohio. The Eagles notched a 195.800 as a team, which is the third-highest team score in program history, beating last weekend's total by .05.
"I'm really proud of the fight we showed to battle back, finishing so strong on the last two events and tying Ohio State," explained Head Coach Jay Santos. "We started a little slow and tight today on beam, but each event got a little better and by bars the group was on fire. It was great to see them build throughout the meet, put pressure on the other teams and finish like they did."
"It was great to see Ciara get back out there and hit a floor routine tonight," stated Santos. "Having her back on floor and potentially vault should help us with the end of the season. Jules, Syd and Rachel did great vaults tonight, all were very powerful. Bars also had several strong performances from Sydney, Lacey & Kendall."
As the second away team, the Eagles began the day on beam. Sophomore Catie Conrad (Brighton, Mich. – Brighton) led the team, finishing with a 9.825. Four others finished with a 9.7 or better, as senior Kimberly Ebeyer (Greenwood, Ind. – Whiteland Community) notched a 9.75. Just behind her, junior Natalie Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba – Sturgeon Heights) posted a 9.725. With one event completed, Eastern trailed the Buckeyes, 48.975 – 48.700.
Heading to floor, the team improved upon their beam score, posting an event total of 48.900. Another sophomore led the lineup, as Rachel Slocum (Holly Springs, N.C. – Holly Springs) scored a 9.85. Junior Sydney McEachern (Winnipeg, Manitoba – Kelvin) notched a 9.8, while freshman Ciara Gresham (Shiloh, Ill. – Belleville) made her EMU regular season debut, scoring a 9.775. Halfway through the meet, the Green and White still trailed OSU, 98.050 - 97.60.
The team then kicked it into high gear on vault, notching a 49.0. Slocum had another fantastic vault, scoring a career-best 9.925, which put her in a tie for the fourth-best vault score in EMU history. Both Ebeyer and sophomore Julia Schwartz (Gilbert, Ariz. – Mesquite) had great scores as well, with Ebeyer scoring a personal-best 9.825, while Schwartz posted her best score of the season with a 9.8. Heading into the final event, Eastern closed the gap to 146.875 – 146.60 in favor of the Buckeyes.
However, EMU saved their best for last, erupting for a 49.2 on bars, which was the team's best total on the event this season. Not only was it their best of the season, but it also ties the best bars total in EMU history. Junior Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y. – Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) scored a huge 9.9 to lead the Eagles and set a career-best, as well as jump into a tie for third in EMU history, while sophomore Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J. – Holmdel) was just behind with a 9.875. From there, Conrad pitched in a 9.85, tying her career-best, and Gervais scored a 9.8. With all the scores tallied, Eastern managed to tie the Buckeyes with a score of 195.800, while the team also bested Pittsburgh, who finished with a 193.450.
The Green and White now have just two more regular season meets before the Mid-American Conference Championships. Next weekend, the team travels to Kent, Ohio for a dual with Kent State, March 4. The following week, the Eagles host Central Michigan and Southeast Missouri State, Thursday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The No. 21 Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team tied the Ohio State Buckeyes, and defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers today, Feb. 27, in a tri-meet in Columbus, Ohio. The Eagles notched a 195.800 as a team, which is the third-highest team score in program history, beating last weekend's total by .05.
"I'm really proud of the fight we showed to battle back, finishing so strong on the last two events and tying Ohio State," explained Head Coach Jay Santos. "We started a little slow and tight today on beam, but each event got a little better and by bars the group was on fire. It was great to see them build throughout the meet, put pressure on the other teams and finish like they did."
"It was great to see Ciara get back out there and hit a floor routine tonight," stated Santos. "Having her back on floor and potentially vault should help us with the end of the season. Jules, Syd and Rachel did great vaults tonight, all were very powerful. Bars also had several strong performances from Sydney, Lacey & Kendall."
As the second away team, the Eagles began the day on beam. Sophomore Catie Conrad (Brighton, Mich. – Brighton) led the team, finishing with a 9.825. Four others finished with a 9.7 or better, as senior Kimberly Ebeyer (Greenwood, Ind. – Whiteland Community) notched a 9.75. Just behind her, junior Natalie Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba – Sturgeon Heights) posted a 9.725. With one event completed, Eastern trailed the Buckeyes, 48.975 – 48.700.
Heading to floor, the team improved upon their beam score, posting an event total of 48.900. Another sophomore led the lineup, as Rachel Slocum (Holly Springs, N.C. – Holly Springs) scored a 9.85. Junior Sydney McEachern (Winnipeg, Manitoba – Kelvin) notched a 9.8, while freshman Ciara Gresham (Shiloh, Ill. – Belleville) made her EMU regular season debut, scoring a 9.775. Halfway through the meet, the Green and White still trailed OSU, 98.050 - 97.60.
The team then kicked it into high gear on vault, notching a 49.0. Slocum had another fantastic vault, scoring a career-best 9.925, which put her in a tie for the fourth-best vault score in EMU history. Both Ebeyer and sophomore Julia Schwartz (Gilbert, Ariz. – Mesquite) had great scores as well, with Ebeyer scoring a personal-best 9.825, while Schwartz posted her best score of the season with a 9.8. Heading into the final event, Eastern closed the gap to 146.875 – 146.60 in favor of the Buckeyes.
However, EMU saved their best for last, erupting for a 49.2 on bars, which was the team's best total on the event this season. Not only was it their best of the season, but it also ties the best bars total in EMU history. Junior Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y. – Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) scored a huge 9.9 to lead the Eagles and set a career-best, as well as jump into a tie for third in EMU history, while sophomore Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J. – Holmdel) was just behind with a 9.875. From there, Conrad pitched in a 9.85, tying her career-best, and Gervais scored a 9.8. With all the scores tallied, Eastern managed to tie the Buckeyes with a score of 195.800, while the team also bested Pittsburgh, who finished with a 193.450.
The Green and White now have just two more regular season meets before the Mid-American Conference Championships. Next weekend, the team travels to Kent, Ohio for a dual with Kent State, March 4. The following week, the Eagles host Central Michigan and Southeast Missouri State, Thursday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
Eagles Results (*denotes career high, # denotes a program record)
Team 195.800
Vault 49.000
Rachel Slocum 9.925*
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.825*
Julia Schwartz 9.80
Sydney McEachern 9.75
Catie Conrad 9.70
Kendall Valentin 9.20
Bars 49.200#
Lacey Rubin 9.90*
Kendall Valentin 9.875
Catie Conrad 9.85*
Natalie Gervais 9.80
Sydney McEachern 9.775
Julia Schwartz 9.55*
Beam 48.700
Catie Conrad 9.825
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.75
Natalie Gervais 9.725
Lacey Rubin 9.70
Kendall Valentin 9.70
Megan Hultgren 9.625
Floor 48.900
Rachel Slocum 9.85
Sydney McEachern 9.80
Ciara Gresham 9.775*
Catie Conrad 9.75
Natalie Gervais 9.725
Megan Marino 9.600
All-Around
Catie Conrad 39.125
Players Mentioned
AA
/ Gymnastics
V, BB, FX
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
V,BB,FX
/ Gymnastics
AA
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