EMU With Sights Set on Third Straight MAC Championship

Gymnastics vs Western Michigan
Date	Saturday, March 24 \| 2 p.m. ET
Location	Mount Pleasant, Mich. \| McGuirk Arena
Meet Notes	PDF Notes
Twitter	@EMU Gym
Results	Live Results \| L ive Stream

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team looks to defend its back-to-back conference titles in the Mid-American Conference Championship Saturday, March 24, at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
   Almost a year removed from reeling in their third MAC title, the Eagles once again find themselves up against a strong pool of competition, this time with hopes of bringing home the program's fourth total conference championship.

FOLLOWING THE MEET: Fans can follow the meet through live stats offered by tournament host, Central Michigan, and a live stream through ESPN3. Links for both can be found on the EMU gymnastics schedule page located on EMUEagles.com.

LAST TIME AT MACs: The Eagles won their third overall and second consecutive MAC Championship last season, concluding the meet with a team total of 196.5.
   EMU's team score, which is currently the second-best in the EMU record books, came in large part due to consistency throughout the meet, as the Eagles hit every single one of their routines and came up clutch on the final event with a big bars rotation. In fact, the Green and White broke the program's bars record with a 49.300, while also posting the fourth-best beam total in program history. Overall, the Green and White had a 49-or-better on each event for the first time in the entire season.

LAST TIME OUT: EMU ended the regular season with an 195.375-192.725 victory over Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan University Friday, March 16, on Senior Night inside the Convocation Center. Kirsten Gendron, Megan Marino, Lacey Rubin, Jules Schwartz, and Kendall Valentin were recognized for their outstanding careers as Eagles.
   It was the second straight week the Eagles broke the 195 plateau, and the second-best overall team score of the season. Additionally, EMU's beam score of 49.050 was a season-high, and was the first time this year the Green and White marked a 49-or-better in the event.

ALL-MAC HONORS: EMU sophomore Emili Dobronics was named to the All-Mid-American Conference Second Team, the league office announced Wednesday, March 21. Dobronics is the seventh Eagle to earn All-MAC honors in gymnastics since the conference created them in 2013.
   A workhorse for Eastern throughout the season, Dobronics competed in the all-around in all but two meets. The Orland Park, Ill. native has marked new career-highs in each event this season, including a score of 9.9 on floor which she earned in EMU's win against Kent State, Feb. 25. Altogether, the sophomore has accumulated 10 performances that warranted a score of 9.8-or-higher, and has eclipsed a 39 in the all-around four times. Currently, Dobronics holds an RQS of 38.995, which is tied with CMU's Denelle Pedrick for third-best in the conference.

SUCCESS ON BARS: Kendall Valentin and Lacey Rubin have hit their stride on bars throughout the latter half of the season, with the two currently ranking within the top-10 in the conference for RQS. Currently, Valentin ranks fifth in the MAC with an RQS of 9.865, while Rubin is tied for ninth with an RQS of 9.83. Additionally, Valentin's 9.95 she notched earlier this season ties Kent State's Rachel Stypinski and Northern Illinois' Ashley Potts for the highest score on the event in the conference this season, while Lacey's 9.925 has her tied with Western Michigan's Amelia Mohler for second.

IMPROVEMENTS ON FLOOR: The Eagles have seen a boost in production on floor over the past seven meets, boasting an average team score of 48.946 through the contests, compared to their 48.517 they held through the first three weeks of the season. The spark came in the team's first quad of 2018, when EMU marked a then season-high 48.900 at MSU, Jan. 27. Eastern's best floor score of the season came in the form of a 49.125 against Kent State, Feb. 25. Additionally, the Green and White notched a 49.025 against Illinois State, Feb. 15, which was the first time the team surpassed a 49.000 in any event this season. Most recently, EMU marked a team score of 48.975 in the regular season finale against WMU. Three Eagles tied for the second-best score in the meet as Emili Dobronics, Kirsten Gendron, and Megan Marino each notched a 9.825.

LOOKING AHEAD: Following the MAC Championships, EMU will wait to see if any individual student-athletes will earn bids to the NCAA Regional Championship. Outside of teams who qualify to the regional championship, four all-around competitors and two indivdual specialists per event will also earn the nod to participate.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emili Dobronics

Kirsten Gendron

Megan Marino

Lacey Rubin

Jules Schwartz

Kendall Valentin

Eastern Michigan Athletics