Eagles End Regular Season in Style with Second Highest Team Score Ever

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team gave senior Kimberly Ebeyer (Greenwood, Ind. – Whiteland Community) a senior night to remember, as the team emerged victorious in a tri-meet against Central Michigan and Southeast Missouri State, March 10. The Eagles scored above a 196 for just the second time in program history, ultimately scoring a 196.250 with three event totals of 49 or better.

The Green and White concluded their regular season on a high-note after a tough loss to Kent State last week, March 4. The team bounced back with an incredible overall performance, highlighted by a new program record on bars. As a team, the bars lineup finished with a 49.225, edging out the 49.200 that was set earlier this season at Ohio State, Feb. 27. Eastern also posted three event totals of 49 or better for the third time this season as well.

"I feel really good," explained Head Coach Jay Santos. "The team really bounced back. We talked a lot about how we seemed to lose our focus a little bit and that's where it got away from us last week. All week long, we've been talking about making sure that we weren't just keeping it high energy, but also focusing on the right things at the right times. I think they did that great all day. Vault was maybe a little tight, but they kept their energy up and went to bars and knocked it out. They looked about as confident as they have looked in a month on beam, and they took that to floor. Overall, it's probably the best I feel over the last few meets."

Beginning on vault, the Eagles turned in a steady overall performance, with all scores ranging between a 9.7 and a 9.8. Leading the way were a pair of sophomores in Kendall Valentin (Holmdel, N.J. – Holmdel) and Rachel Slocum (Holly Springs, N.C. – Holly Springs), both of whom finished with a 9.8. Just behind them, fellow sophomore Catie Conrad (Brighton, Mich. – Brighton) nabbed a 9.775 after her solid yurchenko full. Finally, Ebeyer and freshman Ciara Gresham (Shiloh, Ill. – Belleville) rounded out the five with 9.725's. With one event completed, the Eagles notched a 48.825, and trailed Central, who finished with a 49.075.

From there, the Green and White moved to bars, where they had a rotation for the books. Finishing with a 49.225 on the event, the Eagles set a new program record, besting the old record of 49.2. Leading the charge was Valentin and Conrad, both of whom finished with huge scores of 9.9. Conrad's was also a career-best. Additionally, juniors Natalie Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba – Sturgeon Heights) and Lacey Rubin (Plainview, N.Y. – Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) pitched in a pair of 9.85's. Finally, fellow junior Sydney McEachern (Winnipeg, Manitoba – Kelvin) scored a 9.725. Following two rotations, the Eagles tied it up at 98.050.

Moving to beam, the team recovered extremely nicely after last week, scoring a 49.150. Conrad tied her career-high from last week, scoring a 9.875 after a beautiful routine. Rubin followed up her bars score with another 9.85, while Valentin notched a 9.825. Additionally, Ebeyer and Gervais had very solid routines as well, both finishing with a 9.8. After three, the Green and White raced ahead to a 147.200 – 145.750 lead over the Chippewas.

EMU then closed out the meet with another event total above 49. With four scores of 9.8 or better, Eastern notched a 49.050 in their final event. Gresham scored another career-best with a 9.85 to lead the team. Slocum also pitched in a 9.85 as well, while McEachern notched a 9.825. Finally, Conrad scored a 9.8 and Gervais notched a 9.725. With all the scores tallied, Eastern emerged victorious with a 196.250, while Central scored a 194.125 and SEMO finished with a 191.800. Additionally,

Conrad finished with a career-best 39.350 in the all-around, which is the team's highest all-around score since 2003, and puts her at No. 7 in the EMU record books.

The Eagles now turn their sights towards the Mid-American Conference Championships, March 19. The team will compete for their second team title in program history on the campus of Ball State in Muncie, Ind.

Eagles Results (*denotes career high, # denotes a program record)

Team 196.250

Vault 48.825
Kendall Valentin 9.8
Rachel Slocum 9.8
Catie Conrad 9.775
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.725
Ciara Gresham 9.725*
Julia Schwartz 9.7

Bars 49.225#
Kendall Valentin 9.9
Catie Conrad 9.9*
Natalie Gervais 9.85
Lacey Rubin 9.85
Sydney McEachern 9.725
Kirsten Gendron 9.725

Beam 49.150
Catie Conrad 9.875*
Lacey Rubin 9.85
Kendall Valentin 9.825
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.8
Natalie Gervais 9.8
Megan Hultgren 9.75

Floor 49.050
Ciara Gresham 9.85*
Rachel Slocum 9.85
Sydney McEachern 9.825
Catie Conrad 9.8
Natalie Gervais 9.725
Kimberly Ebeyer 9.625

All-Around
Catie Conrad 39.350*

Eagles End Regular Season in Style with Second Highest Team Score Ever

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Players Mentioned

Catie Conrad

Kimberly Ebeyer

Kirsten Gendron

Natalie Gervais

Ciara Gresham

Megan Hultgren

Sydney McEachern

Lacey Rubin

Jules Schwartz

Rachel Slocum

Kendall Valentin

Eastern Michigan Athletics