Gymnastics Hosts Western Michigan in Season's Purple Meet

Gymnastics vs. Western Michigan (Purple Meet)
Date	Friday, Feb. 2 \| 6 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| George Gervin GameABove Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Stats	Live Results
Watch	ESPN+
Twitter	@EMUGym \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Eastern Michigan University returns home to face off against Mid-American Conference opponent, Western Michigan University, Friday, Feb. 2. The meet is donned as this season's "Purple Meet", which will be used to honor Ella Dover and spread awareness on Epilepsy. Competition will be held at the George Gervin GameAbove Center and is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

FOLLOWING THE MEET: Fans can follow the meet through live results or watch the livestream on ESPN+. Links can be found on the EMU gymnastics schedule page located on EMUEagles.com.

FOR ELLA: EMU Gymnastics' Purple Meet is held annually to commemorate honorary team member Ella Dover's fight with epilepsy. In unison with Team IMPACT in 2016, the Eagles signed Dover to a ceremonial letter of commitment to join the team for practices, meets and team activities. Dover suffers from chronic epilepsy and has multiple seizures daily. This, however, does not have an impact on her attitude, as she is always smiling and approaching life with a positive mentality.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: EMU senior gymnast Raisa Boris earned MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors, for the second time this season, the league announced, Jan. 31. Boris received the honor after her stellar performance in the weekend victory over NIU and CMU, Jan. 28. The Minnesota native took the top-spot in not only the all-around event with a 39.400 score, but she also contributed three first place finishes: Bars – 9.850, Beam – 9.875, & Floor – 9.925. Boris has led the Eagles in multiple events throughout the season and has won the all-around gymnast title in three meets, thus far.

KEY EAGLE: Awarded after every contest, the EMU gymnastics coaches choose one gymnast to anoint as that meet's Key Eagle. Junior Alana Fisher earned the honor after the triangular meet against NIU and CMU, Jan. 28. In that meet, Fisher placed first on vault with a career high 9.925.

IN THE RECORD BOOK: The meet with both NIU and CMU marked a season high on vault for the Green and White with a 49.125, an improvement from their previous score against UW-Stout (48.800). This score has also entered the record books as the third highest vault score in program history.

FIRST WIN ON THE ROAD: EMU traveled to DeKalb, Ill. to compete against MAC members NIU and CMU Sunday, Jan. 28, inside the Convocation Center. The Eagles finished with a 195.700 team score securing their second straight win of the season as well as their highest team score in the 2024 campaign. The overall team score topped their previous season-best, a 195.325 score against University of Wisconsin-Stout, Jan. 21. This also marked EMU's first road win of the season.

FISHING FOR A CAREER BEST: Junior Alana Fisher joined the record books after the triangular meet at NIU, with her performance on vault scoring a 9.925. That score ties her for fourth all time on the event. The last time an Eagle achieved that score on vault was in 2021.

BOOMIN' BORIS: Raisa Boris led the Eagles in their victories over both NIU and CMU in the NIU Tri-Meet, Jan. 28. The senior took the top-spot in the all-around with a 39.400 score, tying for the fifth best in program history. Boris also scored a 9.925 on floor, tying for the second best score in program history on the event. The last time an EMU gymnast achieved that score was in 2004 when both Leah Hashimoto and Emily Koechel competed for Eastern. Boris' high scores contributed to three first place finishes on bars, beam and floor as well as all-around.

EAGLES PERSONAL BESTS: Along with Alana Fisher and Raisa Boris, three more Eagles achieved career bests against both NIU and CMU. Gwendelyn Cantu with a 9.800 on vault and Trinity Macy with a 9.800 on beam. Abby Brushwood attained two bests on vault and floor with a 9.850 on both events.

EAGLES STAY ON TOP: Two Eagles have consistently landed on top of the leaderboard in two events. Raisa Boris has placed first on floor at four of the five last meets, while Ella Chemotti has placed first on beam at three of the four meets, as well. The only meet the two did not achieve first place in was the duel against Minnesota on Jan. 13.

ALL-TIME WITH THE BRONCOS: The Eagles will face off against Western Michigan University for the second time this season after falling to the Broncos in the season opener, Jan. 7. The all-time record against WMU is 19-16 with the Eagles on top. Friday's meeting will mark the 36th match-up between the in-state rivals.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Eagles jumped up one more spot in the rankings following the wins over NIU and CMU. The team ranks 45th in the NCAA rankings as of Jan. 25, 2024. EMU has consistently moved up in the rankings over the past three weeks. The highest EMU has been ranked in program history (started tracking in 1998) was the 2016 team that ranked 17th in the nation.

EAGLES ON ESPN: For the seventh consecutive season, the Eagles will have their home meets broadcast on ESPN3. This season, fans will be able to watch their Eagles compete in all home meets. Furthermore, the Mid-American Conference Championships, March 23, at Ball State, will also be broadcast on ESPN3.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU travels to Bowling Green, Feb. 11, to face off against MAC opponent Bowling Green State University. Competition will be held at the Stroh Center and will begin at 2 p.m. The meet will count towards conference competition.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Raisa Boris

Abby Brushwood

Gwendelyn Cantu

Ella Chemotti

Alana Fisher

Trinity Macy

Eastern Michigan Athletics