Bowling Green State University
Northern Illinois
Falcons Earn Shot At MAC Championship With Win Over NIU
February 23, 2014 | Gymnastics
Full Results (.pdf)
Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University Gymnastics team posted its second-highest team score of the year Sunday, rolling past Northern Illinois 194.825-193.075. With the win, the Falcons will compete for a share of the Mid-American Conference regular season championship March 6 at Kent State.
Bowling Green honored its three seniors for its final home meet of the year, recognizing Megan Harrington, Lacey Swords and Megan Valentini for their careers. The three were part of a rebuilding project in the program, going just 1-12 overall and 0-6 in MAC play as freshmen. The trio helped the team improve to 1-5 as sophomores, 3-3 a year ago and now 4-1 in 2014 with a chance to earn a MAC title.
In Sunday's meet, BGSU got stronger as the meet wore on, tying its season-best on the floor on the fourth rotation and steamrolling the Huskies late. After the first two rotations, Bowling Green's lead was just .375 but the Falcons outscored Northern Illinois by 1.075 over the final half of the meet.
Harrington and Alyssa Nocella tied their season highs with identical 9.875 scores on the floor. Gina Locigno added a 9.825, while Valentini posted a 9.775. With Lauren Feely's 9.725, Bowling Green posted a 49.075 on the apparatus, almost a full point better than the 48.150 that Northern Illinois scored.
While the floor exercise clinched the match, the Falcons posted the better score on all three other apparatuses as well. BGSU opened with a 48.650 on vault, led by Amanda Lievendag's 9.825, but left some points on the board by failing to stick landings.
Rachel Reis and Lievendag both scored a 9.825 on the bars as Bowling Green scored 48.475. The Falcons added a 48.625 on beam behind Nocella's 9.800.
Locigno earned the all-around title with a 38.925, scoring at least 9.675 on all four rotations. Her 9.725 on uneven bars was a season-best for her and she posted a 9.825 on floor for her meet high. Harrington was just behind with a 38.900. She scored at least 9.725 three times, led by her floor score of 9.875.
Northern Illinois falls to 5-6 with the loss and 2-2 in MAC play. Bowling Green improves to 7-5 overall and 4-1 in conference. It is the first time the Falcons have earned four league wins since the 2010 team went 4-2.
With the 4-1 conference record, BGSU trails only 5-0 Kent State in the league standings. With Central Michigan at 3-1, Bowling Green would earn a share (either two-way or three-way) of the league title when the Falcons and Golden Flashes square off on March 6. BGSU has earned four MAC Championships in program history, most recently in 2002 after going 17-1.
Prior to that meet, however, the Falcons will head to Denton, Texas to face Texas Woman's Saturday at 8 pm.
