The Eagles Hunt for Fourth MAC Championship Saturday, March 20

Gymnastics vs. Mid-American Conference
Date	Saturday, March 20 \| 2 p.m. ET
Venue	Kalamazoo, Mich. \| Read Fieldhouse/ University Arena
Preview Info	Meet Notes
Live Stats	Live Results
Watch	ESPN3
Twitter	@EMUGym \| @EMUAthletics

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team heads to Kalamazoo, Mich. for the Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Western Michigan University Saturday, March 20. The meet will take place inside University Arena at 2 p.m.
   The Eagles (15-6; 3-3 MAC) are coming off a season-best team score (196.100) at the CMU Quad, March 13, where they placed second. The host, Central Michigan, took first place with a score of 196.425. Ball State hit 195.650 for third, while Western Michigan came in fourth, scoring 194.500.

FOLLOWING THE MEET: The meet will be streamed on ESPN3 where David Korzeniowski and Evan Stockton will have the call. Fans can also follow along on EMUEagles.com via live stats, or on Twitter, @EMUGym.

ONE GOAL, QUALIFY: Eastern currently sits tied for 29th in the nation with a team national qualifying score (NQS) of 195.925. Only the top-36 teams qualify for NCAA Regionals, so the Eagles will wait until the section show Monday, March 22, for the official announcement.

APPARATUS APPRECIATION IN THE NATION: Eastern Michigan currently ranks 21st on beam and 33rd on bars in the NCAA. The beam squad holds a national qualifying score of 49.169, while the bars lineup has earned a 49.025 NQS this season.

ADDING ALL-AROUND: After not competing all-around for the majority of the season, senior Jada Rondeau put on a show in her final regular-season meet at the CMU Quad, March 13. Rondeau posted a 39.475 in the competition, which tied her for second all-time in EMU history with former Eagle Leah Hashimoto. The senior started the day tying her personal-best 9.875 on bars, then hit a massive 9.900 on beam to tie for first on the apparatus. The Savage, Minn. native scored 9.875 on floor before finishing off with a career-high of 9.825 on vault.
   Rondeau has now competed all-around in four consecutive meets for the Eagles heading into the Mid-American Conference Championships.

MAC HISTORY: The Eagles are in search of their fourth Mid-American Conference title, with their last coming in 2017 when they repeated as back-to-back MAC champs. EMU has won it all in 2007, 2016, and 2017.

LAST TIME AT MACs: The last time the Mid-American Conference had all seven teams in one arena to compete was March 23, 2019, and it was Northern Illinois who came out as champions, scoring 195.975. Eastern Michigan came in third, hitting 195.350, its second-highest team score of the 2019 season.
   In the meet, former Eagles Allie Smith and Ciara Gresham hit scores of 9.875 and 9.850 to place second and tie for third, respectively. Another former Eagle in Emili Dobronics brought home a floor title for Eastern, scoring 9.900 to tie for first. Dobronics was the first floor champion for EMU since Leah Hashimoto, Natalie Hashimoto, and Sara Wasilenko tied to claim the title at the 2002 MAC Championships.

BEAMTOWN: Continuing to turn up the heat on beam and ranking first in the Mid-American Conference, the Eagles are making a case for Ypsilanti to become Beamtown. The squad has an NQS of 49.169 on the apparatus after setting a program record 49.350 at Western Michigan, Feb. 21.
   Four Eagles rank in the top-10 in the league. Junior Caitlin Satler is second, with an NQS of 9.894 on the apparatus, while senior Jada Rondeau sits third (9.888). Sophomore Hadyn Crossen (9.863) and junior Shannon Gregory (9.863) are tied for fifth, respectively.

STACK AGAINST THE MAC: In the current team rankings, Eastern (195.925) sits third in the Mid-American Conference, behind Central Michigan (196.275), and Kent State (195.981). The Green and White lead the MAC on beam (49.088). On bars, EMU is third in the conference (49.000), with Kent State close behind (48.994). The Eagles sit fifth in the league on floor and vault with NQS scores of 49.069 and 48.744, respectively.

WHO CAN OUTDO RONDEAU?: Senior Jada Rondeau is having a stellar senior season, earning a career-high in all four events, and all-around (Vault: 9.825, Bars: 9.875, Beam: 9.950, Floor: 9.900, All-Around: 39.375). Rondeau has added her name in the record book three times this season, now sitting second on beam (9.925), tied for 15th on floor (9.900), and tied for second in all-around (39.475). Heading into the Mid-American Conference championships, the senior is tied for fourth on bars (9.869), third on beam (9.888), and tied for ninth on floor (9.875), in the league.

EASTERN MICHIGAN 49ERS?: The Green and White have now hit 49+ 10 times this season, with the most recent coming, March 13, at the CMU Quad on vault and beam. The squad posted a season-high 49.000 on vault, and a 49.275 on beam, ultimately earning second place in the meet. The beam squads' score was the second-highest of the season, behind their program record-setting 49.350 at WMU, Feb. 21.

SECOND TEAM, SECOND TIME: Eastern Michigan saw two Eagles earn All-MAC Second Team honors Friday, March 19, for the 2021 season. Senior Jada Rondeau and junior Caitlin Satler were named to the second team for the second-straight year, while it's the third consecutive season the Green and White have had two representatives on the All-MAC teams.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles have their eyes set on going to NCAA Regionals, April 3. Only the top 36 teams in the country get to compete as the Green and White await their fate as final scores come in from across the country. Eastern currently sits 29th and should earn a spot at the 2021 regionals as a team.

The Eagles Hunt for Fourth MAC Championship Saturday, March 20

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Players Mentioned

Hadyn Crossen

Emili Dobronics

Shannon Gregory

Ciara Gresham

Jada Rondeau

Caitlin Satler

Allie Smith

Eastern Michigan Athletics