EMU Hosts UIC in Annual Beauty and Beast Meet

Gymnastics vs. Illinois-Chicago
Date	Friday, Feb. 2 \| 7 p.m. EST
Location	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center
Meet Notes	PDF Notes
Twitter	@EMU Gym
Results	L ive Stream \| Live Results

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center for a matchup against the University of Illinois-Chicago Friday, Feb. 2. The Eagles are coming off their best performance of the season, which saw them post a team score of 194.950 en route to picking up their first two wins of the season against Rutgers and Pittsburgh at the MSU Quad, Jan. 27.

Following the Meet: Fans can follow the meet through live stats and a live stream offered by EMU Eagle All-Access. A link for both can be found on the EMU gymnastics schedule page located on EMUEagles.com.

Beauty and the Beast: Friday's meet serves as the annual Beauty and the Beast competition, which allows fans to enjoy EMU wrestling and gymnastics together in the same arena simultaneously. In this year's spectacle, wrestling is playing host to the University at Buffalo for a conference showdown against the Bulls.

EMU vs. UIC in Recent History: Over the past decade, the Flames have become familiar foes to the Eagles, as the two have met a total of nine times since the 2008 season. Of those nine meetings, EMU has racked up a dominating 7-2 record against UIC, having won seven consecutive matchups. In fact, Eastern's last loss against the Flames came Feb. 3, 2012, which will be almost exactly seven years ago to the day come Friday.
Last Time Out: The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team earned its highest team score of the season with a 194.950 Saturday, Jan. 27, in East Lansing, Mich. The Eagles topped the likings of Rutgers (194.225) and Pittsburgh (193.125), but could not close the gap behind quad host-Michigan State (195.525).
   The meet was highlighted by season highs on floor (48.9), vault (48.75), and beam (48.925), including seven performances which earned new or tied career-bests. Additionally, senior Kirsten Gendron and sophomore Emili Dobronics posted a new season-high for the team on floor, each notching a 9.825, with Gendron's routine serving as her first official performance of the season.

Rubin Earns MAC Specialist of the Week...Again: Redshirt senior gymnast Lacey Rubin earned Mid-American Conference Specialist of the Week honors for the second time this season for her outstanding performance during the Michigan State Quad, Jan. 27. This is the fourth weekly conference award she has earned in her career.
   Rubin was a vital piece in EMU's best performance of the season at the MSU quad. The Plainview, N.Y.-native started her day on bars where she notched a season-best 9.825, which served as a team-high and the third-best score overall in the event. She then went on to earn a score of 9.85 with her routine on beam, which earned a share of the event title in addition to helping the beam squad tally its best team score of 2018 with a 48.925. Eastern ended the quad with a season-high team score of 194.950, topping both Rutgers and Pittsburgh for the Eagles' first wins of the season.
   The redshirt senior notched her first weekly award with her performance in the regular-season opener against Penn State, Jan. 7. During the meet, Rubin scored a 9.850 on bars in her first official routine of the season to take her first event title of the year. Additionally, she ended her day by posting a 9.775 on beam, which was good for the second-best event score and a team-high on the apparatus.

EMU In the MAC: Individually, EMU has a representative in the top-10 for every event, with senior Kendall Valentin holding the highest ranking, presently slotted in fourth for the all-around with an average score of 38.975. Additionally, the Holmdel, N.J.-native sits in sixth for vault, while redshirt senior Lacey Rubin and senior Kirsten Gendron rank fifth in the bars and floor, respectively.

Looking Ahead: Eastern continues Mid-American Conference competition next week Friday, Feb. 9, as they welcome Northern Illinois to the Convocation Center. The meet against the Huskies will be the second of three consecutive home meets, with the third coming against Illinois State, Feb. 15.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emili Dobronics

Kirsten Gendron

Lacey Rubin

Kendall Valentin

Eastern Michigan Athletics