Eagles Ready for Toughest Meet of the Season

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Following a record breaking performance against Central Michigan, Feb. 5, the Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team returns to competition Monday, Feb. 8, with a tri meet in Ann Arbor. There, the Eagles will be taking on No. 3 Michigan, as well as the Maryland Terrapins.

Following the Meet: Eagle fans can follow the meet through a live video stream, as well as live stats. To view the live stream, please click here. For live stats, please click here.

Eagles Break Program Record: Against Central Michigan, Feb. 5, the Green and White walked away with a 195.600-195.400 victory, which was a new program record for total team score. The previous record of a 195.575 was set last season, Feb. 20, against Western Michigan. The team accomplished this feat through consistency on all four events, as each event total was between a 48.825 and 48.975. In his two seasons as head coach, Jay Santos has already led the Eagles to a number of record-breaking performances.

Rubin Dominating the Last Three Weeks: Throughout the last three weeks, Lacey Rubin has been on fire for the Eagles. Through those three meets, the junior has performed six routines, five of which have scored a 9.8 or higher. Within that time frame, she notched career-bests of 9.875 on both bars and beam. Her bars score also sits tied at third all-time in EMU program history. Rubin has provided a solid veteran presence so far this season, only missing one routine in the season opener.

Eagles Maintain Their Top-30 Ranking: After three straight weeks in the top-25, the Eagles fell to No. 26 in the team rankings this week. Despite the slight drop, the Green and White are still ranked in the top-30 in three events, highlighted by a No. 12 ranking on beam. Additionally, EMU sits at No. 29 on vault and No. 26 on bars. Among Mid-American Conference schools, Eastern is still the top-ranked institution, with Central trailing by nearly five tenths. In addition to being the top team overall, the Eagles are atop the conference on vault and beam.

Scouting the Competition: The Green and White will face their toughest opponent of the season in the form of the Wolverines, who are ranked No. 3 nationally. With their average team score of 196.860, the team is in the top-10 on every event. U-M sits at No. 6 on vault, bars, and beam, while they are ranked No. 3 on floor. Individually, the Maize and Blue have a number of very strong gymnasts. Freshman Olivia Karas has been a national-caliber all-arounder this season, most recently scoring a 39.525 against Nebraska. The Wolverines are also led by Nicole Artz, another very capable all-arounder, as well as Talia Chiarelli, who can put up big scores on vault, beam, and floor.
The Terrapins come into the meet ranked No. 36 overall, just ahead of Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan. The strongest event for Maryland is bars, where they are ranked No. 21. Additionally, the team sits at No. 39 on vault, No. 33 on beam, and No. 47 on floor. The Terrapins had a strong showing in their last meet, where they finished with a 195.500 against Iowa. Kathy Tang had a solid day in the all-around, finishing with a 39.150. Macey Roberts highlighted the floor lineup, notching a 9.9 to lead the team on the event. Evelyn Nee also had a strong day, posting a 9.875 on bars.

Last Time Against the Wolverines and the Terrapins: The last regular season meeting between the Eagles and the Wolverines came in 2009 as part of the State of Michigan Classic. There, the Wolverines bested the Green and White, 195.925-190.650. Erin Grigg turned in a solid vault, finishing with a 9.825 to lead EMU. On bars, three Eagles tied with a 9.575 to pace the team. Although as a whole the group struggled on beam, both Tracie Tamashiro and Nikole Viltz scored 9.625. Finally, Viltz and Stacie Wood received a pair of 9.725's on floor. This meet came before the tenure of head coach Jay Santos, who led the Eagles to a preseason victory over U-M this season.
The Green and White competed against the Terrapins much more recently, as the Eagles opened their season victorious over Maryland as part of the Pittsburgh Quad Meet, Jan. 10. EMU finished with a team score of 194.875 to beat Maryland's 194.400 by nearly five tenths. Kendall Valentin had a career day, notching three scores of 9.85 or better. The sophomore finished with a pair of 9.85's on bars and beam, along with a 9.875 on vault. Rachel Slocum also turned in a solid performance, scoring a 9.85 on vault with her new handspring front pike 1/2.

Rubin Honored as MAC Specialist of the Week: The Mid-American Conference announced Feb. 2 that Lacey Rubin was named the MAC Specialist of the Week for her performance against NIU. In the home opener, Rubin scored a pair of 9.825's, taking home third and first on bars and beam, respectively. The junior has been a force for the Eagles throughout the last three weeks, as she has been consistently scoring above 9.8 on beam.

Hultgren Off to a Great Start: With five meets in the books, Megan Hultgren has notched five hit routines for the Eagles on beam. The freshman has been rock-solid so far this season, earning a trio of 9.7's, as well as two scores of 9.8 or better. At the Ball State tri-meet, Jan. 24, Hultgren turned in a career performance, as she received a 9.825 for her routine.

Slocum Leading EMU on Two Events: Sophomore Rachel Slocum has gotten off to a great start following the first five meets of the year. Against Ball State and Illinois State, she took home two event titles, scoring a 9.9 on vault and a 9.85 on floor. So far this season, she has a total of five event titles on floor and vault, as well as three runner-up finishes. For her efforts, Slocum was named the Mid-American Conference Specialist of the Week following the first meet of the year.

Last Time Out: Only three days prior to their meet at Michigan, the Eagles came out on top against conference opponent Central Michigan, 195.600-195.400, Friday, Feb. 5. The EMU team score was a program record, besting the previous record set last season. The meet was close throughout, as the teams were tied after two rotations, and EMU only held a slim lead going into the final event. A series of clutch routines on floor from Catie Conrad, Sydney McEachern, Kimberly Ebeyer, and Rachel Slocum ensured that the Eagles would come out on top. Lacey Rubin continued her recent tear, nabbing a 9.875 on bars, which was a career best. Conrad also had a solid day in the all-around, notching a career high total of 39.100.

Looking Ahead: Following the meet at Michigan, the Eagles will next travel to conference opponent Bowling Green, Feb. 13. The action from Anderson Arena is slated to begin at 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Catie Conrad

Kimberly Ebeyer

Megan Hultgren

Sydney McEachern

Lacey Rubin

Rachel Slocum

Kendall Valentin

Eastern Michigan Athletics