text:
Ball State Cardinals
Ball State finished their regular season 6-10. The Ball State gymnastics team claimed a new season high score (195.450) in the tri-meet victory against University of Illinois-Chicago (195.175) and Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan (194.300). The Regional Qualifying Score is based on the team's six best regular season meets. Included in those meets, are three away competitions. To calculate a team's RQS, drop the highest team score and average the remaining scores together. Currently the Cardinals RQS sits at 194.870.
Bowling Green Falcons
This will be the 37th edition of the MAC Gymnastics Championships, and the Falcons have finished in the top three of the event ten times. BGSU captured team titles in 1982, 1983 and 1985. Through the end of the 2017 regular season, the Falcons enjoy the best team score in the Mid-American Conference on the vault (48.990). Jovannah East owns the MAC's best individual vault RQS (9.870). East has a 9.850+ on vault for nine straight meets.
Central Michigan Chippewas
The Chippewas finished 3-3 and tied for third in the MAC regular-season standings. CMU posted a 196.375 score against Rutgers two weeks ago. That was the highest score by a MAC team this season. That mark stood for six days, when the Chippewas bettered it last Saturday with a 196.575 total in beating NIU on Senior Day at McGuirk Arena. CMU has won the MAC Championships 15 times, far and away the most in league history.
Eastern Michigan Eagles
The Green and White secured the team's first ever MAC Regular Season Title this past weekend in the victory against Bowling Green. Within the conference, Eastern finished with a record of 5-1, defeating Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Kent State, Ball State, and Bowling Green, while falling to Northern Illinois. EMU has now competed in 11 meets this season against 15 opponents, with just the postseason remaining. As of the most recent rankings, the Eagles still hold the top-ranked spot in the MAC, as they hold a RQS of 195.805, while second-place Kent State sits at a 195.720. When it comes to individual events, EMU sits atop the conference on bars and beam, while holding fifth on both vault and floor.
Kent State Golden Flashes
The Golden Flashes have showed improvement throughout the season, posting their top four scores in the last four competitions to secure their ninth NCAA Regional bid in the last 10 years with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 19.5720 that is tied for 28th in the country. Kent State owns the second-best RQS and overall average (195.103) in the Mid-American Conference. Kent State posted its best score since March 8, 2015 on to beat Ball State, 196.425-195.000, last Friday at the M.A.C. Center. The Flashes scored a 49.250 on beam, which ties for the fifth-highest mark in program history, and also had a season-best 49.200 on bars, while scoring 49.175 on floor and 48.800 on vault to win all four events.
Northern Illinois Huskies
The Huskies go into the post season after a record breaking regular season. The team recorded three school records throughout the 2017 season including an individual uneven parallel bars score, the team vault score and most recently the team all-around score. In the last meet of the regular season, NIU recorded a 196.150 school record team score at Central Michigan University.
Western Michigan Broncos
The Broncos are coming off their best home meet of the season, scoring a 195.475 last week against Southeast Missouri State. For her efforts in the performance, Anna Corbett was named MAC Gymnast of the Week. It was the first of two honors she received during the week as she and Rachael Underwood were each named to the All-MAC Team. WMU comes into the weekend No. 38 in the country, just two away from reaching the top 36 needed to qualify for the NCAA Regionals. The Broncos have a Regional Qualifying Score of 195.270.