CLEVELAND – The Mid-American Conference announced Thursday that Western Michigan gymnastics has been named the 2020 MAC regular season champion after a thorough discussion and evaluation process with leaguewide administrators and personnel.

Western Michigan, led by seven-year head coach Penny Jernigan, posted a 5-1 MAC record to claim its second regular season conference title and first since 2006.
 
Ball State ranked second in the conference with a 4-1 league mark. All seven MAC gymnastics programs completed 10 weeks of the regular season. The final week of the regular season and the MAC Gymnastics Championship were canceled on March 12 due to COVID-19.
 
Following the cancellation of athletic competition, the MAC began discussing the naming of a MAC gymnastics regular season champion. After careful consideration and discussion, the Council of Directors of Athletics approved the recommendation of announcing Western Michigan as the 2020 MAC champion.
 
During Western Michigan's Senior Day meet against Kent State, the Broncos' overall score of 196.075 tied for the second best in program history, trailing only a 196.175 against Eastern Michigan on February 20, 2015. The Broncos set the program record for high floor score, tallying a 49.375 versus Kent State, surpassing a 49.300 set against Kent State and UIC in 2004.
 
Western Michigan's bars group tallied a 49.100 against Kent State, tied for the fifth-highest mark in program history. The Broncos also finished with a 49.275 on the floor against Bowling Green, good for the fourth-highest score in program history. 
 
The Broncos began the 2020 campaign with a 195.275-191.850 victory over Michigan State, marking the program's fourth consecutive triumph versus the Spartans.
 
The MAC will announce its 2020 all-conference gymnastics teams and five postseason awards on Monday and the 2020 academic all-conference gymnastics team on Wednesday. 

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