MAC Championship

Recap

The Big Storyline: Central Michigan came out swinging on the bars and never let up, taking the MAC championship for the second year in a row. Ball State finished second by two-tenths while home team Kent State took third.

Postseason Implications: Western Michigan finishes No. 27 and Ball State finishes No. 33. Both teams could be susceptible to the play-in round. Several MAC gymnasts are in contention to qualify as individuals, including MAC all-around champion Demers as an all-arounder.

Records: Multiple teams recorded top five program scores across all four events. Ball State scored a top five team score, bars and floor, while Central Michigan scored a top five record on bars. Kent State scored new top five records on bars and floor, while Western Michigan scored a top five record on floor.

Controversies: Originally, the balance beam championship was a tie between Jensen and Kathryn Weilbacher from Bowling Green. A scoring change at the end of the meet took Weilbacher out as co-champion and Jensen as the sole champion in the event. 

Conference Awards

• Gymnast of the Year: Payton Murphy (WMU)
• Event Specialist of the Year: Suki Pfister (BSU)
• Freshman of the Year: Luciana Alvarado-Reid (CMU)
• Senior of the Year: Hannah Demers (CMU)
• Coach of the Year: Joanna Saleem (BSU)

Preview

• No. 26 Western Michigan | 196.590 NQS | 197.100 season high
• No. 32 Ball State | 196.355 NQS | 196.950 season high
• No. 38 Central Michigan | 195.985 NQS | 196.500 season high
• No. 41 Kent State | 195.680 NQS | 196.025 season high
• No. 47 Northern Illinois | 195.525 NQS | 195.950 season high
• No. 50 Bowling Green | 195.225 NQS | 196.200 season high
• No. 55 Eastern Michigan | 194.930 NQS | 195.800 season high

If you can only watch one meet, here’s why it should be this one… The MAC championship screams “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” with all seven teams competing in one monster of a session. 

If this is one of many meets you’ll be watching, don’t miss this… Expect this meet to be a hotbed of regional qualifiers, between Western Michigan, Ball State, and many gymnasts in individual contention. A vault battle is expected between Suki Pfister and Cassie St. Clair. Northern Illinois’ Natalie Hamp and Alyssa Al-Ashari form a one-two punch on bars that’s not to be missed either. No matter when you tune in, you’re bound to catch a floor contender—10 MAC gymnasts have achieved 9.925 or higher this year, with all-around favorite Payton Murphy even notching a 9.975. 

What’s the bigger picture to keep an eye on? While Western Michigan and Ball State are mathematically locked into the postseason, they aren’t immune to the play-in round. Scoring north of 196.500 will be their best route to advancing straight to round one. Ball State also trails the conference in MAC team titles, with this year’s championship being its best bet—the last time the Cardinals were top two in the conference going into MACs was over two decades ago, and this season has presented a strong case to rewrite that. 

By the Numbers

Past Champions

• Central Michigan: 17 titles, last won in 2022
• Kent State: 12 titles, last won in 2015
• Eastern Michigan: 4 titles, last won in 2021
• Western Michigan: 4 titles, last won in 2013*
• Bowling Green: 3 titles, last won in 1985
• Northern Illinois: 1 title, last won in 2019
• Ball State: 1 title, last won in 2002

*Co-champion with Central Michigan

Records Watch

• Team: 197.525 (Central Michigan, 2004) | Vault: 49.450 (Central Michigan, 2004) | Bars: 49.550 (Central Michigan, 2003) | Beam: 49.475 (Central Michigan, 2018) | Floor: 49.575 (Central Michigan, 2003)

Last Time Out

The seven-ring circus had fans convinced Western Michigan would maintain their breakaway lead from the first half, only for Central Michigan to come from behind on beam to nab the conference title. Northern Illinois snuck its way into second place, as one of only two teams to tally three event totals over 49. Ball State narrowly missed the top three, with its final score good for fourth place. Kent State fended off Eastern Michigan to finish fifth and sixth, respectively, while Bowling Green took itself out of contention early with bars troubles to finish in seventh.