#FalconGymnastics Hosts Ohio State And Ball State Over The Weekend

Friday, February 6

Bowling Green, Ohio

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ohio State (Orange Out, Student Appreciation Day)

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

#FalconGymnastics Hosts Ohio State And Ball State Over The Weekend

February 04, 2015 | Gymnastics

Bowling Green returns to Anderson Arena after competing in three-straight road contests.

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS (3-3; 0-1 MAC)
VS.
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (2-2; 1-2 B1G)
Friday, Feb. 6 | 6 p.m. ET | Anderson Arena | Bowling Green, Ohio
BALL STATE UNIVERSITY CARDINALS (0-5; 0-1 MAC)
Sunday, Feb. 8 | 2 p.m. ET | Anderson Arena | Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: www.BGSUFALCONS.com
Follow Along: @FalconGymn | @BGAthletics
COMPLETE MEET NOTES (.PDF)

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – After competing in three consecutive road meets, #FalconGymnastics returns to Anderson Arena for a pair of weekend dual meets. Bowling Green will take on Ohio State on Feb. 6 at 6 p.m., prior to resuming Mid-American Conference competition against Ball State on Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. The Orange and Brown are 1-0 at Anderson Arena this season.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
A link to follow live stats can be found at BGSUFalcons.com for this weekend's meets against Ohio State and Ball State. Fans can also follow the BGSU Gymnastics team on Twitter @FalconGymn for in-meet updates, news and notes, or BGSU Athletics @BGAthletics. Furthermore, Bowling Green fans can follow the gymnastics team on Instagram by searching "bgsu_gymnastics," or BGSU Athletics by searching "bgfalcons."

HEAD COACH'S THOUGHTS
Kerrie Turner: "Our program is so excited to return home to Anderson Arena for two home meets this weekend. Ohio State is having a great year, and they will be a tough opponent. We look forward to the challenge, and bringing our very best this Friday. Equally important will be our MAC meet against Ball State this Sunday. It has been a long road stretch, and we are ready to get a fresh start and gain momentum with these home competitions. We have made several adjustments over the past week and a half, and I expect the team to really raise the performance value in competition this weekend."

ABOUT THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State – who has posted the 22nd-best average score this season – enters Friday's meet fresh off a defeat at Minnesota on Jan. 31. The Buckeyes posted a season-best 196.200 the previous weekend in a win versus Iowa. Ohio State has also earned a 195.025 and a 194.675 across two other competitions. The Buckeyes are assisted by Taylor Jones, who spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons in Bowling Green as an assistant for head coach Kerrie Turner.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Ball State is winless on the year, but that is due largely in part to a difficult schedule. The Cardinals have faced three schools that have posted average scores that rank in the top 25 in the country, including a season-opening meet against No. 2 Florida. Ball State has also competed against Michigan State (24) and Southern Utah (21), who sit just outside GymInfo's Top 20 National Rankings.

WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN
* A pair of victories would move Bowling Green to 5-3 on the season.
* A win over Ohio State on Friday would be the program's first since 2002. Ohio State has defeated the Falcons 10 straight times.
* A triumph over Ball State on Sunday would be Bowling Green's third straight over the Cardinals.
* By defeating Ball State, Bowling Green would move to 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play this season.

ORANGE OUT OHIO STATE
Friday's dual meet with Ohio State is being tabbed as an "Orange Out," and all fans are encouraged to wear as much orange gear as possible. The meet will also serve as the season's Student Appreciation Day. The first 100 students will get free pizza, and all students are eligible to enter in a raffle to win a free iPad. Students must register before the second rotation is over, and the winner will be announced during the fourth rotation.

MITCHELL CONTINUES TO BEAM ON BEAM
In her first collegiate meet, Laura Mitchell – a freshman from London, England – placed first on balance beam on Jan. 24 at Eastern Michigan by earning a 9.850. She followed that up by registering a 9.875 on the apparatus this past Sunday (Feb. 1) at George Washington to earn a second-straight title. Mitchell's 9.875 is tied for the best routine score for BGSU this season. Jamilah Ali scored a 9.875 in the Orange and Brown's season-opening victory versus Michigan State.

JAMILAH "FIRST PLACE" ALI
Senior Jamilah Ali opened the 2015 season with three consecutive first-place finishes for the Falcons. Ali claimed outright vault titles against Michigan State (Jan. 10) and Eastern Michigan (Jan. 24). The senior posted a 9.875 to earn the first-place finish versus the Spartans, while her 9.850 was good enough to take the crown against the Eagles. On Jan. 17 at the Ozone Collegiate Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee, Ali tied for first on beam with a 9.625. The senior's three first-place finishes are a team high.

"VAULTING" AND IMPROVING
Sophomore Victoria Heath – who competed for the first time in her career in BGSU's season opener against Michigan State – has set new career highs on vault in each of Bowling Green's first four meets. After scoring a 9.450 against the Spartans, Heath registered a 9.675 the following weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee at the Ozone Collegiate Classic. Heath then earned a 9.700 in Bowling Green's MAC opener at Eastern Michigan Jan. 24, before posting a 9.725 on Feb. 1 at George Washington.

NOCELLA DOES IT ALL
Junior Alyssa Nocella is the only Falcon in 2015 that has earned an all-around score for every meet this season. Nocella scored a season-high 39.025 in the team's season-opening win against Michigan State. This past weekend in Washington, D.C., Nocella earned a 38.750 – her best all-around score since the season opener. The junior recorded three scores at or above a 9.700, highlighted by a 9.800 on floor.

FALCON FIRST-TIMERS
Freshmen Laura Mitchell, Jordan Rae, McKenna Schoenberger and Krista Walberer, as well as sophomore Victoria Heath have all made their collegiate debuts in 2015. Fellow freshmen Morgan Denlinger, Vanessa Emery, Goniwiecha, Taylor Livingston and sophomore Brianna McGuffie will look to make their debuts throughout the remainder of the season.

TOP ROUTINES IN 2015
All-Around: 39.025 | Alyssa Nocella (1/10/15 vs. Michigan State)
Bars: 9.850 | Amanda Lievendag (1/10/15 vs. Michigan State)
Beam: 9.875 | Laura Mitchell (2/1/15 at George Washington)
Floor: 9.800 | Nocella, Locigno (2/1/15 at George Washington)
Vault: 9.875 | Jamilah Ali (1/10/15 vs. Michigan State)

DOWN GOES SPARTY
Bowling Green opened the 2015 season with a 194.775–194.075 victory over Michigan State. The win was the program's first over a Big Ten Conference opponent since 2004. The triumph was also the Orange and Brown's second ever win against the Spartans, with the only previous win taking place in 1984. The Falcons bested Michigan State on vault (48.850), bars (48.675), and floor (48.650), and individually, took home the vault and bars titles. Jamilah Ali scored a meet-high 9.875 on vault, while Amanda Lievendag won bars with a 9.850. Bowling Green's team score of 194.775 was its highest at in opening meet since 2001.

THE TURNER-ROUND
Kerrie Turner has completely turned around the program, and has morphed the Falcons into legit title contenders. Turner faced an uphill battle in 2011 when she coached a team comprised of 14 underclassmen, one junior and no seniors. The Falcons went 1-11 (0-6 MAC) that year, but have finished with a better record and have totaled more MAC wins in each of the next three years leading up to 2015. In 2012, BGSU went 2-12 (1-5 MAC) and followed that season up by going 5-11 (3-3 MAC). Furthermore, in 2013, Turner was named the MAC Coach of the Year. In 2014, Turner guided Bowling Green to the program's best season in over two decades by placing third at the MAC Championships – something that hadn't been accomplished in 22 years.

THE MAC CHAMPS ARE BACK
Three individual MAC Champions return to compete for the Orange and Brown this season. Amanda Lievendag scored a 9.850 last year to capture the vault title, one year after Jamilah Ali took the crown by posting a 9.875. Alyssa Nocella also won an individual championship in 2013, as she totaled a 9.850 to bring home the beam title. Central Michigan joins Bowling Green as the only two schools in the conference to return three MAC Champions. No other school returns more than one.

PRESEASON POLL
BGSU was picked to finish second – along with Kent State – in the MAC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's coaches. Central Michigan received five first-place votes and is tabbed to win the conference, while Bowling Green and Kent State each earned one first-place vote apiece. Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan were picked to finish fourth and fifth, respectively, with Ball State and Western Michigan bringing up the rear. The Falcons were picked to finish third last season, and fourth in 2013.

SCHOLASTIC ALL-AMERICANS
In August, nine Falcons were named Scholastic All-Americans by the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches for Women (NACGC/W). Student-athletes must have a grade point average of 3.50 or higher to be honored. Lauren Feely, Rachel Reis, Alyssa Nocella, Caroline Ellingboe, Rachel Perry, Katrina Carpenter, Gina Locigno, along with graduates Megan Harrington and Megan Valentini, were recognized. Overall, the Falcons placed 18th in the nation with a team GPA of 3.4738, improving on last year's 3.1471 GPA that ranked 55th.

GYMNASTICS SIGNS THREE FOR 2016
In November, head coach Kerrie Turner announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2016 season. Julia Beyer (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley High School/Naperville Gymnastics Club), Chelsea Eley (Greensboro, N.C./Westchester Country Day School/High Point Gymnastics Academy) and Lauren De Meno (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville High School/Head Over Heels Gymnastics) will all join the program next fall.