Despite being placed at one of the toughest regional sites in the country, the No. 21 Kent State gymnastics team vaulted past the competition to qualify for nationals.
With a team score of 195.45, Kent State beat No. 15 Ohio State by 0.1 for second place and the national title berth. It also defeated No. 13 Stanford, No. 22 Minnesota and No. 24 Iowa State.
No. 6 Michigan, which hosted the regional competition, won the event with a 197.075 score.
The Golden Flashes entered Saturday's meet ranked sixth of the six teams at their regional site. This is the school's first trip to nationals as a team.
Senior Christina Lenny led Kent State with a second-place 39.35 in the all-around. Her top individual event was the floor exercise, where she scored a 9.9, good for second.
The Golden Flashes will host the national championship, which begins April 15.