Eastern Michigan Athletics
Monday, February 8
Ann Arbor, Mich.
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
195.975
at
197.425
Michigan
Photo by: Jonathan Knight Photography
Eagles Shatter Program Record in Back-to-Back Meets
2/8/2016 11:41:00 PM | Gymnastics
For the second straight competition, the Green and White set a new record for team score
Complete Results
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team continued their record-breaking season with another school best team score in a tri-meet against the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland, Feb. 8. Finishing with a 195.975, the Eagles bested their previous record, which was set only three days ago in a home meet against Central Michigan, Feb. 5.
The Green and White finished with three event totals of 49 or better for the first time this season, again displaying their consistency across all four events. The highest event total for Eastern came on beam with a 49.125, while the bars group notched a 49.1. Finally, the vault lineup finished with a total of 49.025. Individually, sophomore Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J. - Holmdel) posted one of the highest scores ever for the Eagles with a 9.925 on bars, which was also second all-time in the EMU record books. Valentin wasn't the only one scoring a 9.9 on the day, as fellow sophomore Rachel Slocum (Holly Springs, N.C. - Holly Springs) finished with a 9.9 on vault.
"It's been a great weekend," remarked Head Coach Jay Santos. "They were on for the meet on Friday, and then the team took it one step further tonight. We talked about building on Friday's meet, and they took that confidence from the other night. They looked very comfortable, and they looked great tonight. The energy was high, which is always a worry for a double weekend."
"The team took what they did on Friday, where we were just under 49 on each event, and they were just a little bit better," explained Santos. "That's what we've been talking about, finding those quarter-tenths and those half-tenths that will boost the score. We had a bunch of that tonight, hitting 24-for-24 again. I always tell the team that good things will happen when we hit 24-for-24, and this weekend is a prime example of that."
Like earlier in the season, the Eagles began the meet on beam as one of the away teams. The team found success on the event once again, posting a 49.125, making it the second time this year that the Green and White has broken the 49 mark on the event. Leading the charge for EMU was sophomore Catie Conrad (Brighton, Mich. – Brighton) and junior Natalie Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba - Sturgeon Heights), both of whom finished with scores of 9.85. Just behind them was junior Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y. – Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) with a 9.825, her fifth straight score of 9.8 or better on the event. Also breaking the 9.8 mark was Valentin with a 9.80. With one event in the books, EMU trailed Michigan by less than two tenths, while leading Maryland by nearly one point.
Moving to floor, the Eagles continued hitting routines, as all six gymnasts posted scores of 9.725 or better. Sophomore Megan Marino (Girard, Ohio – Howland) got the event off to a good start with a 9.725, which was a new career best. The Eagles' scores continued rising throughout the rotation, with Conrad notching a 9.75 before junior Sydney McEachern (Winnipeg, Manitoba – Kelvin) finished with a 9.775. Closing the event in the anchor spot, sophomore Slocum turned in another great performance, posting a 9.8. After two, the Green and White held a team score of 97.850, and remained behind U-M, but ahead of Maryland by over a point.
Eastern then traveled to vault, breaking a 49 for the second time on the evening. Starting the Eagles off on a positive note was senior Kimberly Ebeyer (Greenwood, Ind. - Whiteland Community) with a 9.8, which was a personal best. Two other Eagles received scores above 9.8, as Conrad notched a 9.85 with a beautiful yurchenko full. However, Slocum had the highlight of the event, as her signature handspring front pike ½ received a 9.9. This marks the second time this season that Slocum has received a 9.9, as she also accomplished the feat at Ball State, Jan. 24. With a vault total of 49.025, the Eagles' three event total moved to 146.875, still putting the team in second.
Heading into the final event with positive momentum, the Eagles remained on fire, finishing with their third event total of 49 or better on the day. Four more Eagles notched scores above 9.8, with Gervais and Conrad receiving scores of 9.8, while Rubin notched a 9.825. In the fifth spot, Valentin posted the Eagles' highest score this season, earning a 9.925 for a beautiful routine. With a stuck dismount, the sophomore brought home the second-best score on that event in school history. Closing out the day with a 49.10 on bars, Eastern finished with a school-record 195.975 to place second overall.
Following three straight meets in Washtenaw County, the Eagles hit the road for a quick trip down to Ohio for a meet with Bowling Green, Feb. 13. Action from Anderson Arena is slated to kick off at 6 p.m.
Eagles Results (*denotes career high, # denotes program record)
Team 195.975#
Vault 49.025
Rachel Slocum 9.9
Catie Conrad 9.85
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.80*
Kendall Valentin 9.75
Julia Schwartz 9.725
Sydney McEachern 9.725
Bars 49.100
Kendall Valentin 9.925*
Lacey Rubin 9.825
Natalie Gervais 9.80
Catie Conrad 9.80
Kirsten Gendron 9.75
Sydney McEachern 9.65
Beam 49.125
Catie Conrad 9.85
Natalie Gervais 9.85
Lacey Rubin 9.825
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.80
Kendall Valentin 9.80
Megan Hultgren 9.675
Floor 48.725
Rachel Slocum 9.80
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.775
Sydney McEachern 9.775
Catie Conrad 9.75
Megan Marino 9.725*
Kendall Valentin 9.725
All-Around
Catie Conrad 39.250*
Kendall Valentin 39.200*
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team continued their record-breaking season with another school best team score in a tri-meet against the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland, Feb. 8. Finishing with a 195.975, the Eagles bested their previous record, which was set only three days ago in a home meet against Central Michigan, Feb. 5.
The Green and White finished with three event totals of 49 or better for the first time this season, again displaying their consistency across all four events. The highest event total for Eastern came on beam with a 49.125, while the bars group notched a 49.1. Finally, the vault lineup finished with a total of 49.025. Individually, sophomore Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J. - Holmdel) posted one of the highest scores ever for the Eagles with a 9.925 on bars, which was also second all-time in the EMU record books. Valentin wasn't the only one scoring a 9.9 on the day, as fellow sophomore Rachel Slocum (Holly Springs, N.C. - Holly Springs) finished with a 9.9 on vault.
"It's been a great weekend," remarked Head Coach Jay Santos. "They were on for the meet on Friday, and then the team took it one step further tonight. We talked about building on Friday's meet, and they took that confidence from the other night. They looked very comfortable, and they looked great tonight. The energy was high, which is always a worry for a double weekend."
"The team took what they did on Friday, where we were just under 49 on each event, and they were just a little bit better," explained Santos. "That's what we've been talking about, finding those quarter-tenths and those half-tenths that will boost the score. We had a bunch of that tonight, hitting 24-for-24 again. I always tell the team that good things will happen when we hit 24-for-24, and this weekend is a prime example of that."
Like earlier in the season, the Eagles began the meet on beam as one of the away teams. The team found success on the event once again, posting a 49.125, making it the second time this year that the Green and White has broken the 49 mark on the event. Leading the charge for EMU was sophomore Catie Conrad (Brighton, Mich. – Brighton) and junior Natalie Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba - Sturgeon Heights), both of whom finished with scores of 9.85. Just behind them was junior Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y. – Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) with a 9.825, her fifth straight score of 9.8 or better on the event. Also breaking the 9.8 mark was Valentin with a 9.80. With one event in the books, EMU trailed Michigan by less than two tenths, while leading Maryland by nearly one point.
Moving to floor, the Eagles continued hitting routines, as all six gymnasts posted scores of 9.725 or better. Sophomore Megan Marino (Girard, Ohio – Howland) got the event off to a good start with a 9.725, which was a new career best. The Eagles' scores continued rising throughout the rotation, with Conrad notching a 9.75 before junior Sydney McEachern (Winnipeg, Manitoba – Kelvin) finished with a 9.775. Closing the event in the anchor spot, sophomore Slocum turned in another great performance, posting a 9.8. After two, the Green and White held a team score of 97.850, and remained behind U-M, but ahead of Maryland by over a point.
Eastern then traveled to vault, breaking a 49 for the second time on the evening. Starting the Eagles off on a positive note was senior Kimberly Ebeyer (Greenwood, Ind. - Whiteland Community) with a 9.8, which was a personal best. Two other Eagles received scores above 9.8, as Conrad notched a 9.85 with a beautiful yurchenko full. However, Slocum had the highlight of the event, as her signature handspring front pike ½ received a 9.9. This marks the second time this season that Slocum has received a 9.9, as she also accomplished the feat at Ball State, Jan. 24. With a vault total of 49.025, the Eagles' three event total moved to 146.875, still putting the team in second.
Heading into the final event with positive momentum, the Eagles remained on fire, finishing with their third event total of 49 or better on the day. Four more Eagles notched scores above 9.8, with Gervais and Conrad receiving scores of 9.8, while Rubin notched a 9.825. In the fifth spot, Valentin posted the Eagles' highest score this season, earning a 9.925 for a beautiful routine. With a stuck dismount, the sophomore brought home the second-best score on that event in school history. Closing out the day with a 49.10 on bars, Eastern finished with a school-record 195.975 to place second overall.
Following three straight meets in Washtenaw County, the Eagles hit the road for a quick trip down to Ohio for a meet with Bowling Green, Feb. 13. Action from Anderson Arena is slated to kick off at 6 p.m.
Eagles Results (*denotes career high, # denotes program record)
Team 195.975#
Vault 49.025
Rachel Slocum 9.9
Catie Conrad 9.85
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.80*
Kendall Valentin 9.75
Julia Schwartz 9.725
Sydney McEachern 9.725
Bars 49.100
Kendall Valentin 9.925*
Lacey Rubin 9.825
Natalie Gervais 9.80
Catie Conrad 9.80
Kirsten Gendron 9.75
Sydney McEachern 9.65
Beam 49.125
Catie Conrad 9.85
Natalie Gervais 9.85
Lacey Rubin 9.825
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.80
Kendall Valentin 9.80
Megan Hultgren 9.675
Floor 48.725
Rachel Slocum 9.80
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.775
Sydney McEachern 9.775
Catie Conrad 9.75
Megan Marino 9.725*
Kendall Valentin 9.725
All-Around
Catie Conrad 39.250*
Kendall Valentin 39.200*
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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