Co-captain leads team, earns MAC honors

The Kent State gymnastics team got off to a flying start in its season opener, thanks in part to the work of Kristin Peters.

The Mid-American Conference named Peters the Gymnastics Specialist of the Week for her performance in Friday’s season opener, a 193.1-187.6 victory over Western Michigan, last year’s MAC Tournament Champion.

“We’re very excited for Kristin,” Kent State coach Brice Biggin said. “It’s certainly well-deserved. She had a phenomenal meet and was very valuable in us getting the win.”

Peters said she was pleased with the award, but she pointed out the team’s victory was more important to her.

“It feels good to get an award like this. I’m honored,” Peters said. “But I think it’s better for us to get a win in our first meet, especially because we knocked off the defending champs.”

Peters scored high in three events: the vault, the beam and the uneven bars. She tied her career-high score with a 9.9 out of 10 on the bars.

“I just went out there and did what I do in practice,” Peters said. “I had confidence in myself, and I performed well.”

Biggin was quick to praise Peters, one of three team captains, not only for her scoring ability but also for her leadership abilities.

“When you have someone scoring as high as she did, it certainly helps, but I also think she is a great influence on her younger teammates,” Biggin said. “The way she stays as calm as she does helps them to do the same.”

Peters said the team performed well as a whole and put up good scores. She also said she believes the victory can help the team in future meets, beginning with tonight’s home meet against Ball State.

“The victory gave us a lot of team confidence,” Peters said. “We just need to keep growing as a team and building upon it, and I think we should go nowhere but up.”

Contact gymnastics reporter Doug Gulasy at [email protected].