Western Michigan at Kent State

Recap

The Big Storyline: This meet came down to the final rotation, with the Golden Flashes and the Broncos having nearly identical scoring through their first three events. Finishing on an event they both lead the conference on, Kent State’s floor consistency ultimately won the dual over Western Michigan’s shaky beam—but only by the value of the fall Western Michigan was forced to count.

Implications: While wins and losses still definitely count for in-conference matches, these two teams are no more separated than when they tied last week. Both also showed multiple exhibitions, proving they have the depth to produce another tight race at MAC championship.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 40 Western Michigan at No. 36 Kent State

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: The weekly Sunday afternoon MACtion time slot has quickly become one to watch out for, producing three teams currently on the regionals bubble. Western Michigan and Kent State are separated by four tenths in the national rankings and earned the same score last weekend.

Need More Proof? Both teams will be looking to check off their first 196-plus of the season after each notching 195.925 in Week 3. Each team’s strength will likely come in the last rotation; the Broncos currently have a narrow lead over the conference on beam, and the Golden Flashes are slowly revealing their arsenal of options to score 9.9-plus to further cement their spot atop the conference on floor. Payton Murphy also tied her own program record last weekend, earning her second 39.400 as a Bronco.