KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan gymnastics team returns to University Arena on Sunday for a 1 p.m. Senior Day meet against Kent State. The Broncos will honor their two seniors, Taylor Buis and Amelia Mohler, after the competition.
 
WMU remains in the thick of the Mid-American Conference regular season championship race. The Broncos and Ball State own 4-1 league records to tie for the top spot with just one regular season meet remaining. Central Michigan and Northern Illinois are tied for third with 3-2 MAC marks while Kent State is fifth with a 2-2 record. Western Michigan is looking for its fifth MAC victory, tying the 2006 squad for the most in program history.
 
The Broncos are looking to snap a seven-match losing streak to Kent State, last downing the Golden Flashes 192.650-192.025 on January 15, 2012. A year ago in Kent, WMU dropped a 195.700-195.050 decision. Rachel Underwood had the top all-around score for the meet with a 39.275 and won the vault with a 9.825 score. Emily Carless earned the top spot on the beam (9.875) while Alexis Olivier took second on the bars (9.850).
 
Last weekend, Western Michigan fell in a back-and-forth battle at Central Michigan, 196.075-194.950. The first three rotations featured a CMU lead, a WMU lead and then a tie heading into the final rotation. Individually, junior Morgan Spence finished with her highest all-around score of the year at 38.950 to take second. Olivier (bars), Mohler (beam) and freshman Josephine Thomas (beam) all had the highest finishes for the Broncos during the meet, tying for second in their respective events.
 
Entering the eighth week of the 2020 season, the Broncos are 39th in the country with a 195.080 national qualifying score (NQS). The team mark is second to Central Michigan (195.350) in the MAC. Qualification for the NCAA Championship is based on a team's and an all-around competitor's six best regular-season meet scores, of which three must be away. To obtain the NQS, the high score is eliminated and the remaining five scores are averaged.
 
Individually for Western Michigan, Mohler is fourth in the MAC on the beam with an NQS of 9.835 and sixth on the bars with an NQS of 9.820. Freshman Ronni Binstock and junior Stacie Harrison are tied for seventh in the league on the floor at 9.835.
 
Following Sunday's tilt, the Broncos head to Iowa City, Iowa, for a 7 p.m. meet on Friday against Iowa. The Broncos then return to Kalamazoo on March 21 for the MAC Championships. Action begins for the league title at 2 p.m. inside University Arena.
 
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