KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A second consecutive back-and-forth battle this time swung in favor of the Western Michigan gymnastics team Sunday as the Broncos came back for a 196.075-195.500 victory against Kent State on Senior Day inside University Arena. The Broncos, who honored seniors Taylor Buis and Amelia Mohler after the meet, held the lead after the first two rotations before the Golden Flashes came up with a huge floor score to go in front heading to the final rotation. WMU returned the favor on the floor with a record 49.375 to earn the win.
The Broncos improved to 6-2 in dual meets and secured a 5-1 Mid-American Conference mark to tie the 2006 squad for the most league victories in a campaign. Western Michigan also clinched at least a tie of the MAC regular season title. It is the second time in program history WMU has won at least a share of the regular season crown, joining the 2006 squad.
"It was perfect," head coach Penny Jernigan said. "This was exactly a dream come true for us. A championship was something we set out as one of our goals this year. To be 4-0 going into last week's meet, losing and seeing the resilience to come back and fight today was great. It's just a great group of athletes. They're incredible students and have incredible dedication. This couldn't happen to a better group."
Western Michigan's overall score of 196.075 Sunday is tied for the second best in program history, trailing only a 196.175 against Eastern Michigan on February 20, 2015.
An eye-popping 49.375 on the floor iced the win for Western Michigan after Kent State had posted a 49.350 on the floor. The floor score set the Bronco program record, surpassing a 49.300 against Kent State and UIC in 2004. Junior Stacie Harrison finished with a career-high 9.925 to lead the charge. The score is tied for the third best in program history. Right behind was freshman Ronni Binstock's career-best 9.900, tied for the seventh-highest mark in WMU history. All six Broncos who competed on the floor scored 9.825 or higher.
"That was amazing," Jernigan said of the floor performance. "When we were sharing the school records on each event during the fall, I told our group the 49.300 was a very high bar. Their response was, 'that's going down.' I knew they had the potential to do it all year. To see them do it on Senior Day and send Amelia and Taylor out with that school-record showing on floor was awesome."
On the vault, where Western Michigan started, the Broncos were nearly identical up and down the lineup with three scores of 9.750 and two of 9.825 or higher. The Broncos wrapped up the first rotation with a 48.925-48.875 advantage. The score was WMU's highest of the season and its best since a 48.975 against UIC on March 13, 2018. Freshman Josephine Thomas turned in a team-high 9.850 to match her high score of the campaign. Sophomore Carissa Ludwig was just behind with a year-best 9.825. Thomas and Ludwig finished first and second. Junior Morgan Spence, freshman Charlotte Tishkoff and Harrison drilled 9.750s to tie for sixth.
Moving to the bars, the Broncos maintained their slim lead after the second rotation at 98.025-97.800 thanks to three of the top four finishes. Western Michigan's 49.100 on the bars is tied for the fifth highest in program history and its best since a 49.150 against Ball State on March 10, 2018. Harrison led the way with a season-best 9.875 to tie Kent State's Rachel Decavitch for first overall. Mohler finished just behind Harrison in third with a 9.850 while junior Alexis Olivier took fourth with a 9.825.
WMU held strong on the beam, but an impressive floor performance from Kent State pushed the Golden Flashes ahead, 147.150-146.800. Binstock, Thomas and freshman Amanda Gruber tied for second overall with 9.775 scores, trailing only Kent State's Abby Fletcher, who had a 9.850. The mark for Binstock was easily her career high, blowing away her previous best of 9.500.
"This is exactly how we have responded to adversity all year," Jernigan said of losing a tight meet last week and coming back to win this week's, despite trailing late. "They are so resilient and capable of moving on. They have a lot of heart, this group. They believe. They believe in themselves, each other and this program. We believe in them. It is really fun to watch how they respond."
The final rotation was on the floor for the Broncos, where they turned in the best performance in program history to come back for the win. With Harrison in first and Binstock in second, Tishkoff, Ludwig and Thomas each scored a 9.850 to tie for sixth.
In the all-around, Decavitch took first with a 39.125. Tishkoff finished second with a 39.075 to set her career high, edging a 39.050 against Eastern Michigan. Spence finished fourth with a 37.650.
The Broncos head to Iowa on Friday for a 7 p.m. meet. WMU then hosts the Mid-American Conference Championship on Saturday, March 21, at 2 p.m.
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