Eastern Michigan University gymnastics overcame an early deficit to beat Mid-American Conference rival the Western Michigan Broncos 194.850-193.725 on Feb. 9 in the Convocation Center.
The Eagles scored a season-high in points during the meet, beating out their previous best of 194.300 they scored against Northern Illinois University and Broncos earlier in the year. This win moved the Eagles to 3-1 in conference play and 4-5 overall for the season.
The Eagles fell behind after the first rotation 48.600-48.550, despite strong performances on the vault by junior Emili Dobronics, senior Megan Hultgren, sophomore Jada Rondeau and junior Allie Smith all posting the same score of 9.725.
The second rotation on the bars saw strong performances by sophomore Cortney Bezold and Hultgren, who both had career personal-best scores of 9.875 and 9.725, respectively, to help put the Eagles in front for the first time 97.350-96.975; the Eagles would not surrender that lead for the rest of the meet.
The Eagles would hold on to a tight lead throughout the rest of the meet, with the largest lead coming at the final score with a point differential of 1.125 in favor of the Eagles.
Sophomore Bri Price not only celebrated a birthday the day of the meet, but she also celebrated a new personal best on bars during the third rotation with 9.725. The Eagles had three total personal bests during the third rotation with Dobronics earning a 9.875 and freshman Charlotte Reynolds added on with a 9.600. They helped to keep the lead for the Eagles 146.100-145.200.
Earlier in the week, freshman Caitlin Satler was named MAC Specialist of the Week for her career-best performances in the last two meets against Bowling Green State University and the University of Illinois-Chicago. While she did not set any new personal bests against the Broncos, she had a strong performance in the fourth rotation on the floor to help fend off the Broncos; she scored a 9.725. While Dobronics and Rondeau led the way in scoring for that event, both earning a score of 9.850.
In all-around scoring for the evening, only one Broncos player scored in the top three. Broncos sophomore Morgan Spence scored a total of 39.050, that placed her third in total points for the event. Rondeau took second place in all-around points with 39.200, and Dobronics took first place with a score of 39.250; both of those scores were new personal bests for them.
This win is the fifth straight win against Western Michigan for the Eagles, dating back Jan. 17, 2016, the last time the Broncos beat the Eagles 195.275-195.050 in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The coach and players were not made available to comment after the meet.
The Eagles next meet is on the road against MAC opponent Central Michigan University on Feb. 15 in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
