KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- For the first time in the modern era, the Western Michigan University gymnastics team has qualified for an NCAA Regional.
The Broncos will compete in the Athens Regional, hosted by the University of Georgia. WMU is slated to face NC State in the opening round on Friday, April 1, at 3 p.m. ET. The winner will advance to a second-round showdown with Central Michigan on Saturday, April 2. That winner will face the winner of a meet between Florida and Illinois for the right to advance to the national meet. The NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships to be held April 16-17 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Western Michigan boasts the 2021 Mid-American Conference Gymnast of the Year, Freshman of the Year and All-Around Champion. In addition, the season saw school records in all-around and balance beam and team scores in excess of 196 twice, a mark reached only four times previously.
In addition, Payton Murphy was selected to the individual all-around competition, giving her the opportunity to continue competing even if the Broncos do not advance out of the first round. WMU has qualified an individual to NCAA regionals every year since 2005, most recently with Morgan Spence (bars) and Rachael Underwood (all-around) in 2019.
WMU last reached an NCAA regional in 1981, a point in time that saw competing postseason championships take place between the NCAA and the now-defunct Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). Coached by current Western Michigan athletics director Kathy Beauregard, the Broncos placed third at NCAA Regionals that year.
Current head coach Penny Jernigan has led the Broncos to several new heights in recent seasons. Last year, WMU captured its fifth MAC Championship, winning the regular-season title before the championship meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year has seen the Broncos twice eclipse the 196 team score, including in a victory at Kent State that gave WMU its first road win over the Golden Flashes since 1991.Â
Murphy, who missed all but one meet during her freshman season after a devastating neck injury, was voted MAC Gymnast of the Year. Murphy set the school record for all-around in a dual meet win over Eastern Michigan, scoring 39.375. In that same meet, she posted 9.950 on balance beam, tying a 17-year old school record.
Murphy owns the top National Qualifying Score (NQS) in the MAC on balance beam this season at 9.913, as well as the league's second-best NQS in all-around at 39.306. She was also one of three first-team All-MAC selections this year.
Sarah Moravansky was voted MAC Freshman of the Year and won the all-around title at the MAC Championships. She owns the top all-around NQS in the MAC by a freshman and she won all-around competition at Kent State in addition to her MAC Championship victory.Â
The Broncos also boast three All-Tournament selections in Ronni Binstock, Dani Petrousek and Moravansky. Binstock and Petrousek each scored 9.900 on floor at the championship meet, helping WMU post a team floor score of 49.325 (just shy of the school record 49.375).
