Senior Amy Cucinotta competes in beam during a competition on Feb. 23 against Pittsburgh. Kent State will compete against George Washington today at 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center. ELIZABETH MYERS | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: Jason Hall

The Kent State gymnastics team has had nearly two weeks to stew over its loss to Central Michigan in the team’s previous meet.

It’s safe to say the gymnasts haven’t forgotten about it as they prepare to host non-conference foe George Washington tonight at 7 p.m.

“It’s definitely something that stays in the back of your mind,” senior tri-captain Julie Huynh said. “It gives you the drive to go out there and do better in the next meet.”

The Flashes have already seen George Washington this season in a five-team meet at West Virginia Feb. 3. The Flashes finished in third place and George Washington came in fourth.

Brice Biggin, coach of the 8-3 Flashes, said George Washington (8-15) is a good team, even if the Colonials’ record doesn’t show it.

“We’ve known them and seen them for the past couple of years, and they’ve been very good contests,” Biggin said. “They have had a couple injuries and have been struggling.”

“But we thought the same about Central; they scored in the 190s against Western Michigan and then in the 195s against us, then went down to the 192s last week,” he said. “So you don’t ever see a team and think that it’s going to be an easy meet.”

A major problem for the Flashes the past two meets has been the team performance on bars, with two gymnasts falling in each meet.

Biggin said he expected a better performance on bars Friday.

“I fully expect the bar team to put those two meets behind them this weekend,” Biggin said. “We’ve got a very good bar team, and I fully expect them to bounce back and perform well.”

Friday night also marks Senior Night for the team. Huynh said that the meet would definitely be emotional for her.

“It’s kind of sad that your career is coming to an end,” she said.

Still, Huynh is looking forward to the meet.

“I get to see my family,” she said. “I’m also glad this is the team I’m graduating with.”

Biggin said the senior class has come “a long way” in their four years in the program.

“Each year, they’ve added more and more routines in and have continually grown as a group,” he said. “They’ve really pushed to be better gymnasts, and as a senior group, they wanted this year to be special.”

Huynh said she and the rest of her teammates know what they have to do to get back on the winning track against George Washington.

“We have to take care of the little things,” she said. “We also need to concentrate on just one gymnast at a time and one event at a time.”

Contact gymnastics reporter Doug Gulasy at [email protected].