Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, April 15
Fort Worth, Texas
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Slocum Gears up for NCAA Championships
4/13/2016 10:57:00 AM | Gymnastics
The sophomore will head to Texas to compete against the nation's best
Meet Information and Video Streams
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The No. 17 Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team will close their incredible 2016 season this weekend with the NCAA Championships, April 15-16, in Fort Worth, Texas. The Eagles will be represented by Rachel Slocum, who will be competing on floor as an individual qualifier.
Following the Meet: The meet will have live results available, as well as a multitude of video streams covering all events of the competition through the ESPN app. Additionally, the meet will be broadcast live on television for the first time ever on ESPNU, with Bart Conner and Kathy Johnson Clarke providing analysis. To view live results or video streams, please click here.
Slocum Qualifies to NCAA Championships: For the second time in program history, the Green and White will be sending an individual to compete in the NCAA Championships. Following Robin Loeheide in 1993, Rachel Slocum will compete amongst the top teams and individuals in the nation on floor. After tying for first on the event at NCAA Regionals, April 2, with a 9.9, Slocum punched her ticket to Fort Worth as the only Mid-American Conference competitor to qualify. The sophomore will take part in the later of two Friday sessions, beginning at 7 p.m, and will rotate with UCLA, as well as Brianna Brown of Michigan.
Santos' Earn Postseason Awards: After leading the Eagles to a historic season, both Head Coach Jay Santos and Assistant Coach Jessica Santos were honored with awards following the NCAA Regionals, April 2. Jay Santos was named Regional Coach of the Year, while Jess Santos was named Regional Assistant Coach of the Year. After just two seasons at the helm, the Santos duo has led the Green and White to their first-ever NCAA Regionals berth, as well as claimed the team's second ever MAC title.
Eagles Conclude Team Season with a Bang: The Green and White concluded the team portion of their season with the NCAA Regionals, April 2, where the Eagles finished fourth in a very competitive meet. In fact, after two rotations, the Green and White held onto a tie for first-place. The team's top event on the day was bars, where the team scored a 49.200. Additionally, EMU scored above a 49 on both beam, 49.075, and floor, 49.075. Natalie Gervais also tied for third on beam with a 9.875, while Rachel Slocum tied for first on floor with a 9.9. Kendall Valentin kicked in a 9.9 on bars as well, tying for sixth. Ultimately, the Green and White finished with a team score of 196.250, which was just .0275 away from tying for first in a loaded field.
Green and White End the Season Ranked No. 17: The final rankings for teams that did not qualify to the NCAA Championships are now available, and the Eagles finished the year ranked No. 17 in the nation, the team's highest ever ranking. Eastern opened the season at No. 20 after their first meet, after which the Green and White had four weeks at No. 21 and four weeks at No. 24. Overall, the team spent 10 weeks in the top-25 this season.
Slocum Repeats as MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week: For the second time this season, Rachel Slocum was named MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday, April 6. The honor comes on the heels of her fantastic day at the NCAA Regionals, where she tied for first on floor with a career-best 9.9, qualifying her to the NCAA Championships. This marks the fourth weekly award that Slocum has received this season, as she was also named MAC Specialist of the Week twice.
Postseason Success: The Green and White have been very successful in both postseason appearances so far this year. The team won their second Mid-American Conference Championship in program history, running away with the title by nearly eight tenths of a point. EMU followed up their conference title with a great NCAA Regionals competition, giving the top-three teams all they could handle. Despite finishing fourth, the Eagles were in the hunt for one of the top-two spots throughout the entire meet, coming in just 0.275 short of first-place Auburn and Stanford.
Scouting the Competition: In addition to competing against the 12 teams that qualified, Slocum will also square off with four other individual qualifiers on floor. Lizzy LeDuc from Illinois, Talia Chiarelli from Michigan, Briannah Tsang from Penn State, and Lindsay Offutt from Pittsburgh will also be competing as individuals on the event. Utilizing regular season rankings, Chiarelli comes in as the top individual qualifier, ranked No. 21 with a RQS of 9.910. Just behind her, Offutt comes in at No. 30 with a 9.900, while Tsang ranks No. 47 at 9.885. Finally, LeDuc rounds out the group with a No. 76 ranking at 9.865.
Last Time at the NCAA Championships: The only previous time that an Eagle qualified to the NCAA Championships was in 1993, when Robin Loeheide qualified as an all-arounder. There, Loeheide finished with a 9.7 on vault, 9.15 on bars, 9.725 on beam, 9.725 on floor, and 38.3 all-around. Her top finishes came on beam and all-around, where she nabbed 18th and 33rd, respectively.
Looking Ahead: This marks the final competition of the NCAA gymnastics season, putting an end to the Green and White's record-breaking 2016 campaign. The Eagles will soon begin practice for next season, as the team returns a number of extremely talented student-athletes looking to follow up with another fantastic season in 2017.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The No. 17 Eastern Michigan University women's gymnastics team will close their incredible 2016 season this weekend with the NCAA Championships, April 15-16, in Fort Worth, Texas. The Eagles will be represented by Rachel Slocum, who will be competing on floor as an individual qualifier.
Following the Meet: The meet will have live results available, as well as a multitude of video streams covering all events of the competition through the ESPN app. Additionally, the meet will be broadcast live on television for the first time ever on ESPNU, with Bart Conner and Kathy Johnson Clarke providing analysis. To view live results or video streams, please click here.
Slocum Qualifies to NCAA Championships: For the second time in program history, the Green and White will be sending an individual to compete in the NCAA Championships. Following Robin Loeheide in 1993, Rachel Slocum will compete amongst the top teams and individuals in the nation on floor. After tying for first on the event at NCAA Regionals, April 2, with a 9.9, Slocum punched her ticket to Fort Worth as the only Mid-American Conference competitor to qualify. The sophomore will take part in the later of two Friday sessions, beginning at 7 p.m, and will rotate with UCLA, as well as Brianna Brown of Michigan.
Santos' Earn Postseason Awards: After leading the Eagles to a historic season, both Head Coach Jay Santos and Assistant Coach Jessica Santos were honored with awards following the NCAA Regionals, April 2. Jay Santos was named Regional Coach of the Year, while Jess Santos was named Regional Assistant Coach of the Year. After just two seasons at the helm, the Santos duo has led the Green and White to their first-ever NCAA Regionals berth, as well as claimed the team's second ever MAC title.
Eagles Conclude Team Season with a Bang: The Green and White concluded the team portion of their season with the NCAA Regionals, April 2, where the Eagles finished fourth in a very competitive meet. In fact, after two rotations, the Green and White held onto a tie for first-place. The team's top event on the day was bars, where the team scored a 49.200. Additionally, EMU scored above a 49 on both beam, 49.075, and floor, 49.075. Natalie Gervais also tied for third on beam with a 9.875, while Rachel Slocum tied for first on floor with a 9.9. Kendall Valentin kicked in a 9.9 on bars as well, tying for sixth. Ultimately, the Green and White finished with a team score of 196.250, which was just .0275 away from tying for first in a loaded field.
Green and White End the Season Ranked No. 17: The final rankings for teams that did not qualify to the NCAA Championships are now available, and the Eagles finished the year ranked No. 17 in the nation, the team's highest ever ranking. Eastern opened the season at No. 20 after their first meet, after which the Green and White had four weeks at No. 21 and four weeks at No. 24. Overall, the team spent 10 weeks in the top-25 this season.
Slocum Repeats as MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week: For the second time this season, Rachel Slocum was named MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday, April 6. The honor comes on the heels of her fantastic day at the NCAA Regionals, where she tied for first on floor with a career-best 9.9, qualifying her to the NCAA Championships. This marks the fourth weekly award that Slocum has received this season, as she was also named MAC Specialist of the Week twice.
Postseason Success: The Green and White have been very successful in both postseason appearances so far this year. The team won their second Mid-American Conference Championship in program history, running away with the title by nearly eight tenths of a point. EMU followed up their conference title with a great NCAA Regionals competition, giving the top-three teams all they could handle. Despite finishing fourth, the Eagles were in the hunt for one of the top-two spots throughout the entire meet, coming in just 0.275 short of first-place Auburn and Stanford.
Scouting the Competition: In addition to competing against the 12 teams that qualified, Slocum will also square off with four other individual qualifiers on floor. Lizzy LeDuc from Illinois, Talia Chiarelli from Michigan, Briannah Tsang from Penn State, and Lindsay Offutt from Pittsburgh will also be competing as individuals on the event. Utilizing regular season rankings, Chiarelli comes in as the top individual qualifier, ranked No. 21 with a RQS of 9.910. Just behind her, Offutt comes in at No. 30 with a 9.900, while Tsang ranks No. 47 at 9.885. Finally, LeDuc rounds out the group with a No. 76 ranking at 9.865.
Last Time at the NCAA Championships: The only previous time that an Eagle qualified to the NCAA Championships was in 1993, when Robin Loeheide qualified as an all-arounder. There, Loeheide finished with a 9.7 on vault, 9.15 on bars, 9.725 on beam, 9.725 on floor, and 38.3 all-around. Her top finishes came on beam and all-around, where she nabbed 18th and 33rd, respectively.
Looking Ahead: This marks the final competition of the NCAA gymnastics season, putting an end to the Green and White's record-breaking 2016 campaign. The Eagles will soon begin practice for next season, as the team returns a number of extremely talented student-athletes looking to follow up with another fantastic season in 2017.
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