Eastern Michigan Athletics
Nine Eagles Earn Academic All-MAC Honors
4/10/2018 10:48:00 AM | Gymnastics
Eastern's nine student-athletes tie for second-most in the MAC
MAC Release
CELEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team landed nine on the Mid-American Conference All-Academic Team for the 2018 season, the league offices announced Tuesday, April 10. Eastern's nine student-athletes tie with Ball State University and Central Michigan University for second most in the conference, trailing only Kent State University.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.
Receiving the honors for EMU was: redshirt sophomore Carly Clark (White Lake, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern), sophomore Emili Dobronics (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg), senior Kirsten Gendron (Birch Run, Mich.-Frankenmuth), junior Megan Hultgren (Rockford, Ill.-Sacred Heart Classical Center), senior Megan Marino (Girard, Ohio-Howland), redshirt senior Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y.-Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy), senior Jules Schwartz (Gilbert, Ariz.-Mesquite), redshirt freshman Allie Smith (Telford, Pa.-Souderton), and senior Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J.-Holmdel).
Clark, who holds a 3.39 GPA while majoring in biology, competed in 11 meets for the Eagles, participating solely as a member of the bars lineup. Throughout the duration of the season, Clark marked four scores of 9.7-or-higher. Additionally, one of those performances warranted a new personal-record of 9.8, which she marked at the MAC Championships to tie for 16th in the event.
Dobronics served as EMU's workhorse this season, competing in the all-around during all-but-two meets. Over the course of the year, Dobronics marked new career-highs in each event, earning a 9.8 on vault, 9.8 on bars, 9.8 on beam, and a 9.9 on floor. Altogether, the sophomore put together 11 performances which earned a 9.8-or-greater, and ended the season with an all-around regional qualifying score (RQS) of 38.995. With that RQS, she was also just one-of-three Eastern gymnasts to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships. Additionally, for her impressive regular season, she was named to the All-MAC Second Team. The Orland Park, Ill. native has earned a cumulative GPA of 3.24 while studying exercise science.
After sitting out the first three meets of the season, Gendron returned to the floor lineup and earned a career-high 9.825 in her first meet back. From then on she was a big contributor on floor, earning just two scores lower than a 9.775, while finishing the season with an average of 9.735. The Birch Run, Mich. native also managed to tie her career-high 9.825 in the last meet of the regular season, before scoring a 9.7 at the MAC Championships. Gendron holds a 3.49 GPA as a biology student.
An exercise science major with a cumulative GPA of 3.83, Hultgren participated in a total of 32 events throughout the year, including three meets which saw her compete in the all-around. The junior either set or tied a new personal-record in each event, marking a vault score of 9.85, a bars score of 9.7, a beam score of 9.85, a floor score of 9.65, and an all-around of 38.8. Additionally, over all the events this season, Hultgren has notched a 9.750-or-higher 14 times, nine of which came on vault.
In her final season donning the Green and White, Marino saw substantial progress up to the last meet of her career. Marino both tied and set new personal-records on both beam and floor, ending with a career high of 9.85 and 9.825, respectively. Additionally, the Girard, Ohio native marked a score of 9.825-or-greater eight times this season, including a personal-best 9.85 on beam at the MAC Championships, which earned 11th place. She also paced the floor squad at the conference championship, notching a 9.8. Marino holds a 3.55 GPA while majoring in social work.
Rubin was one of the conference's premier competitors on bars this campaign, ending the regular season with an RQS of 9.845, which qualified her for regionals as an alternate. Rubin competed in all 12 meets on both bars and beam for the Eagles, and earned a 9.825-or-higher on bars a total of nine times. Moreover, one of those routines came in the MAC Championships where she notched a 9.9 to win silver, acting as EMU's only gymnast to earn MAC All-Tournament Team honors. She also marked a new personal-record in the event, earning a 9.925 at the Temple Quad, which ties for the third-best score in program history. The Plainview, N.Y. native currently holds a 3.73 as a graduate student studying social work.
A staple in EMU's vault lineup this season, Schwartz competed in every meet on vault while also taking on bars and floor duties in several meets. The senior had a career-year in her final campaign as an Eagle, marking new personal-records in vault (9.875), bars (9.775), and floor (9.825), which were all earned at the dual at Kent State, Feb. 25. Hailing from Gilbert, Ariz., Schwartz boasts a GPA of 3.48 as a student in elementary education.
After redshirting her freshman year, Smith served as a consistent member in the vault and floor lineups, competing in all 12 meets on vault, while also participating on floor in nine meets. Smith's best score of the season came in the form of a 9.775 on vault, which she tallied at Kent State. In that same meet, Smith also marked a career-best on floor with a 9.75, however, the redshirt freshman was able to match that score in the Eagles' last meet of the season against Western Michigan, March 16. In her second year of academia, Smith holds a GPA of 3.23 while majoring in therapeutic recreation.
As one of EMU's most consistent performers throughout her entire career representing the Green and White, Valentin continued her dominance in 2018. The senior qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship on bars with an RQS of 9.865, while also serving as an alternate on beam with an RQS of 9.855. Throughout the season, Valentin produced scores of 9.75-or-better on bars in nine of the 11 meets she competed in, earned a score of 9.825-or-greater seven times in the event, and tallied a 9.875-or-better on beam and bars a total of eight times. Furthermore, the Holmdel, N.J. native tied her impressive personal-record of 9.95 on bars, March 11, which ties the program record and makes her the only Eagle to ever reach the mark twice. A senior biology student, Valentin boasts an impressive 3.93 GPA.
Ball State
Baylee Bell , Senior, 3.533
Rachel Benoit, Sophomore, 3.446
Clare Collins, Senior, 3.478
Jackie Duffy, Senior, 3.573
Sydney Finke, Junior, 3.866
Jillian Hacker, Senior, 3.773
Maddie Macdonald, Sophomore, 3.829
Jordyn Penny, Senior, 3.466
Bri Slonim, Sophomore, 3.283
Bowling Green
Lexi Augustine, Sophomore, 3.775
Julia Beyer, Junior, 4.000
Leslie Delgado, Junior, 3.660
Lauren De Meno, Junior, 3.545
Jovannah East, Sophomore, 3.244
Shannon Goniwiecha, Senior, 3.950
India McPeak, Senior, 3.933
Katie Morsefield, Junior, 3.774
Central Michigan
Courtney Campbell, Senior, 3.60
Katy Clements, Senior, 3.57
Bryttany Kaplan, Senior, 3.93
Kailey Miller, Junior, 3.47
Denelle Pedrick, Sophomore, 3.48
Gianna Plaksa, Junior, 3.93
Hayley Porter, Sophomore, 3.48
Miranda Wieczorek, Senior, 3.31
Abbie Rose Zoeller, Junior, 3.46
Eastern Michigan
Carly Clark, R-Sophomore, 3.39
Emili Dobronics, Sophomore, 3.24
Kirsten Gendron, Senior, 3.48
Megan Hultgren, Junior, 3.83
Megan Marino, Senior, 3.55
Lacey Rubin, R-Senior, 3.73
Jules Schwartz, Senior, 3.48
Allison Smith, R-Freshman, 3.23
Kendall Valentin, Senior, 3.93
Kent State
Emily Kelly, Sophomore, 3.941
Sarah Lippowitsch, Junior, 3.292
Ali Marrero, Kent State, Senior, 3.374
Sarah McCarty, Sophomore, 3.405
Sammi Nero, Sophomore, 3.324
Kennedy Plude, Junior, 3.338
Alyssa Quinlan, Junior, 3.856
Michaela Romito, Senior, 3.669
Brooke Timko, Senior, 3.713
Dara Williams, Junior, 3.921
Northern Illinois
Amanda Bartemio, Sophomore, 3.913
Cinny Lamberti, Sophomore, 3.414
Anna Martucci, Junior., 3.568
Paige Nicholas, Junior., 3.896
Katherine Prentice, Senior., 3.437
Aubrie Purtell, Senior., 3.687
Allison Richardson, Sophomore, 4.000
Western Michigan
Rachel Binkley, Junior, 3.86
Taylor Buis, Sophomore, 3.78
Kelsey Hood, Senior, 3.32
Kira Hoy, Senior, 3.83
Katie Jennings, Junior, 3.55
Jessica Juncaj, Senior, 3.55
Amelia Mohler, Sophomore, 3.82
Rachael Underwood, Junior, 3.97
CELEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team landed nine on the Mid-American Conference All-Academic Team for the 2018 season, the league offices announced Tuesday, April 10. Eastern's nine student-athletes tie with Ball State University and Central Michigan University for second most in the conference, trailing only Kent State University.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.
Receiving the honors for EMU was: redshirt sophomore Carly Clark (White Lake, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern), sophomore Emili Dobronics (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg), senior Kirsten Gendron (Birch Run, Mich.-Frankenmuth), junior Megan Hultgren (Rockford, Ill.-Sacred Heart Classical Center), senior Megan Marino (Girard, Ohio-Howland), redshirt senior Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y.-Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy), senior Jules Schwartz (Gilbert, Ariz.-Mesquite), redshirt freshman Allie Smith (Telford, Pa.-Souderton), and senior Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J.-Holmdel).
Clark, who holds a 3.39 GPA while majoring in biology, competed in 11 meets for the Eagles, participating solely as a member of the bars lineup. Throughout the duration of the season, Clark marked four scores of 9.7-or-higher. Additionally, one of those performances warranted a new personal-record of 9.8, which she marked at the MAC Championships to tie for 16th in the event.
Dobronics served as EMU's workhorse this season, competing in the all-around during all-but-two meets. Over the course of the year, Dobronics marked new career-highs in each event, earning a 9.8 on vault, 9.8 on bars, 9.8 on beam, and a 9.9 on floor. Altogether, the sophomore put together 11 performances which earned a 9.8-or-greater, and ended the season with an all-around regional qualifying score (RQS) of 38.995. With that RQS, she was also just one-of-three Eastern gymnasts to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships. Additionally, for her impressive regular season, she was named to the All-MAC Second Team. The Orland Park, Ill. native has earned a cumulative GPA of 3.24 while studying exercise science.
After sitting out the first three meets of the season, Gendron returned to the floor lineup and earned a career-high 9.825 in her first meet back. From then on she was a big contributor on floor, earning just two scores lower than a 9.775, while finishing the season with an average of 9.735. The Birch Run, Mich. native also managed to tie her career-high 9.825 in the last meet of the regular season, before scoring a 9.7 at the MAC Championships. Gendron holds a 3.49 GPA as a biology student.
An exercise science major with a cumulative GPA of 3.83, Hultgren participated in a total of 32 events throughout the year, including three meets which saw her compete in the all-around. The junior either set or tied a new personal-record in each event, marking a vault score of 9.85, a bars score of 9.7, a beam score of 9.85, a floor score of 9.65, and an all-around of 38.8. Additionally, over all the events this season, Hultgren has notched a 9.750-or-higher 14 times, nine of which came on vault.
In her final season donning the Green and White, Marino saw substantial progress up to the last meet of her career. Marino both tied and set new personal-records on both beam and floor, ending with a career high of 9.85 and 9.825, respectively. Additionally, the Girard, Ohio native marked a score of 9.825-or-greater eight times this season, including a personal-best 9.85 on beam at the MAC Championships, which earned 11th place. She also paced the floor squad at the conference championship, notching a 9.8. Marino holds a 3.55 GPA while majoring in social work.
Rubin was one of the conference's premier competitors on bars this campaign, ending the regular season with an RQS of 9.845, which qualified her for regionals as an alternate. Rubin competed in all 12 meets on both bars and beam for the Eagles, and earned a 9.825-or-higher on bars a total of nine times. Moreover, one of those routines came in the MAC Championships where she notched a 9.9 to win silver, acting as EMU's only gymnast to earn MAC All-Tournament Team honors. She also marked a new personal-record in the event, earning a 9.925 at the Temple Quad, which ties for the third-best score in program history. The Plainview, N.Y. native currently holds a 3.73 as a graduate student studying social work.
A staple in EMU's vault lineup this season, Schwartz competed in every meet on vault while also taking on bars and floor duties in several meets. The senior had a career-year in her final campaign as an Eagle, marking new personal-records in vault (9.875), bars (9.775), and floor (9.825), which were all earned at the dual at Kent State, Feb. 25. Hailing from Gilbert, Ariz., Schwartz boasts a GPA of 3.48 as a student in elementary education.
After redshirting her freshman year, Smith served as a consistent member in the vault and floor lineups, competing in all 12 meets on vault, while also participating on floor in nine meets. Smith's best score of the season came in the form of a 9.775 on vault, which she tallied at Kent State. In that same meet, Smith also marked a career-best on floor with a 9.75, however, the redshirt freshman was able to match that score in the Eagles' last meet of the season against Western Michigan, March 16. In her second year of academia, Smith holds a GPA of 3.23 while majoring in therapeutic recreation.
As one of EMU's most consistent performers throughout her entire career representing the Green and White, Valentin continued her dominance in 2018. The senior qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship on bars with an RQS of 9.865, while also serving as an alternate on beam with an RQS of 9.855. Throughout the season, Valentin produced scores of 9.75-or-better on bars in nine of the 11 meets she competed in, earned a score of 9.825-or-greater seven times in the event, and tallied a 9.875-or-better on beam and bars a total of eight times. Furthermore, the Holmdel, N.J. native tied her impressive personal-record of 9.95 on bars, March 11, which ties the program record and makes her the only Eagle to ever reach the mark twice. A senior biology student, Valentin boasts an impressive 3.93 GPA.
Ball State
Baylee Bell , Senior, 3.533
Rachel Benoit, Sophomore, 3.446
Clare Collins, Senior, 3.478
Jackie Duffy, Senior, 3.573
Sydney Finke, Junior, 3.866
Jillian Hacker, Senior, 3.773
Maddie Macdonald, Sophomore, 3.829
Jordyn Penny, Senior, 3.466
Bri Slonim, Sophomore, 3.283
Bowling Green
Lexi Augustine, Sophomore, 3.775
Julia Beyer, Junior, 4.000
Leslie Delgado, Junior, 3.660
Lauren De Meno, Junior, 3.545
Jovannah East, Sophomore, 3.244
Shannon Goniwiecha, Senior, 3.950
India McPeak, Senior, 3.933
Katie Morsefield, Junior, 3.774
Central Michigan
Courtney Campbell, Senior, 3.60
Katy Clements, Senior, 3.57
Bryttany Kaplan, Senior, 3.93
Kailey Miller, Junior, 3.47
Denelle Pedrick, Sophomore, 3.48
Gianna Plaksa, Junior, 3.93
Hayley Porter, Sophomore, 3.48
Miranda Wieczorek, Senior, 3.31
Abbie Rose Zoeller, Junior, 3.46
Eastern Michigan
Carly Clark, R-Sophomore, 3.39
Emili Dobronics, Sophomore, 3.24
Kirsten Gendron, Senior, 3.48
Megan Hultgren, Junior, 3.83
Megan Marino, Senior, 3.55
Lacey Rubin, R-Senior, 3.73
Jules Schwartz, Senior, 3.48
Allison Smith, R-Freshman, 3.23
Kendall Valentin, Senior, 3.93
Kent State
Emily Kelly, Sophomore, 3.941
Sarah Lippowitsch, Junior, 3.292
Ali Marrero, Kent State, Senior, 3.374
Sarah McCarty, Sophomore, 3.405
Sammi Nero, Sophomore, 3.324
Kennedy Plude, Junior, 3.338
Alyssa Quinlan, Junior, 3.856
Michaela Romito, Senior, 3.669
Brooke Timko, Senior, 3.713
Dara Williams, Junior, 3.921
Northern Illinois
Amanda Bartemio, Sophomore, 3.913
Cinny Lamberti, Sophomore, 3.414
Anna Martucci, Junior., 3.568
Paige Nicholas, Junior., 3.896
Katherine Prentice, Senior., 3.437
Aubrie Purtell, Senior., 3.687
Allison Richardson, Sophomore, 4.000
Western Michigan
Rachel Binkley, Junior, 3.86
Taylor Buis, Sophomore, 3.78
Kelsey Hood, Senior, 3.32
Kira Hoy, Senior, 3.83
Katie Jennings, Junior, 3.55
Jessica Juncaj, Senior, 3.55
Amelia Mohler, Sophomore, 3.82
Rachael Underwood, Junior, 3.97
Players Mentioned
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ GymnasticsCinematic Highlights: MAC Gymnastics Championships
Sunday, March 23
Cinematic Highlights: Gymnastics vs WMU + Wilberforce
Friday, February 28
Cinematic Highlights: Gymnastics vs. Kent State
Tuesday, January 28
Cinematics Highlights: Gymnastics Golden Girls Classic
Saturday, January 18