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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Falcons Outsoar Eagles
January 19, 2008 | Gymnastics
Jan. 19, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team opened Mid-American Conference action with a win over defending 2007 MAC Champions Eastern Michigan, 191.950-191.525. With this score the Falcons surpass last week's total by 3.1 points. Leading the way for the Orange and Brown was sophomore Breanne Guy who won the all-around with a score of 38.375.
Guy felt very confident in her performance tonight, "I felt much stronger and more confident in my training this week. I hit my dismount on bars, and hit my beam routine very well tonight. I feel more confident being here, my training has improved a lot and I feel like I can trust my coaches more here then I did at Arkansas."
Head coach Kerrie Beach was also very pleased with how her young squad did in the win, "It was a great win over last years MAC champs Eastern Michigan. It's a great feeling of what's to come this year. I think this win is going to turn some of the attention to the team and give them some recognition that they deserve. We have such a young group that all other teams and fans don't know what to expect from us, but tonight we showed that we are a force to be reckoned with."
The Orange and Brown started the meet off on vault where they posted a team score of 48.250. This gave BGSU the early lead over EMU (47.125) and the Falcons never looked back. Guy and senior Jacquelyn Bernhardt are a powerful one-two punch as they ended the vault scoring 9.750 and 9.725 respectively. Senior Ashlee deLeeuw improved greatly from last weeks finish as she scored a 9.650. Guy placed first in the event followed by Bernhardt in third. Eastern Michigan's Erin Grigg took second with her score of 9.750. Next the team headed to the bars where they improved their team score by 1.25 points.
Freshman Michelle Luchini might have been feeling under the weather but was hot on bars, when she scored a 9.775 winning her the event. She was joined by Guy who finished fourth with a score of 9.700, and sophomore Morgan Balzer who tied for fifth (9.650). Balzer finished the night tied for second in the all-around with a total score of 38.050. The Falcons outscored the Eagles on bars by 1.1 points. EMU's Monica Lucas and Jolene Worley took second and third with scores of 9.750 and 9.725 respectively.
Last week's beam was a struggle for BGSU however; tonight they surpassed that score by 1.45 points. Again Guy led the way with her 9.725 placing her in second. Freshman Abby Ashley made a huge turnaround from her last outing with a score 9.650. EMU's Zu Vuong landed a 9.775 winning the event, and Worley took third with her 9.700. Heading into the last event the Falcons had a slim 0.725 of a point lead.
Making her debut on the floor this season was Bernhardt, who had been battling a knee injury. She finished seventh with a score of 9.500. Leading the Orange and Brown for the second week in a row on floor was freshman Meg Satterlee, who flipped to a 9.775 tying her for first. Sophomore Queenita Gamble finished in third with a score of 9.700. Ashley also made a huge improvement on floor by her score of 9.625.
Overall Beach was very pleased with how her girls were able to step up when needed, "Abby Ashley who is a freshman had a really rough start last week, but came out tonight and hit her routines. We really need her to come out and start it for us. Jacque Bernhardt stepping up on floor was huge especially after the issue she has had with her injury. That takes a lot of guts. Breanne Guy and Morgan Balzer did a great job in the all-around. It is so hard to train all four events so for them to hit is huge for us."
The team now takes to the road for a three meet stand. The first will be next Sunday (Jan. 27) at Brown University where they will compete in a four-way meet against Brown, MIT and West Chester. This meet will begin at 1:00 p.m. BGSU will then head to Kent where they will compete in the All-Ohio vs. Ohio State and Kent State. They will finally return home on Feb. 16 where they will host MAC foe Central Michigan for Alumni Night. This meet will be held in the Eppler Complex at 7:00 p.m.
"Starting off the season beating Eastern Michigan, especially with them being MAC champions is a great start for us," states Guy. "We did a really good job hitting, and I think we will progress throughout the season."
