Falcons Post 195.250, Knock Off Top-25 Michigan State At Quad Meet

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EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team scored its second-best team score (195.250) of the season and placed second at a quad meet in East Lansing, Michigan on the campus of Michigan State University on Friday night. The Falcons defeated No. 23 Michigan State (194.350) and Eastern Michigan (195.225). No. 19 Arizona (195.450) won the competition. All three of BGSU's opponents would have qualified for the NCAA Regionals if the tournament started today, as Eastern Michigan entered play ranked No. 33.

The Orange and Brown were originally scheduled to compete on Saturday (March 7) at Rutgers University with Bridgeport and West Chester, but the team's flight was cancelled and there was no other way to get to the competition on time. The squad then had to call around late last night to find a meet, and Michigan State graciously allowed BGSU to compete tonight. The Falcons arrived in East Lansing in the afternoon.

Bowling Green defeated Michigan State to open the 2015 season, and by knocking them off again tonight, the program earned two victories over Big Ten Conference schools across one season for the first time since 2002.

The victory over Eastern Michigan does not count within the Mid-American Conference, as the two schools met earlier in the season on Jan. 24. Bowling Green also significantly improved its Regional Qualifying Score (RQS). The Falcons can now drop the 192.700 that they scored at Central Michigan on Feb. 28, and replace it with tonight's score. By doing that, BGSU's RQS jumps from a 194.180 to a 194.690. The Falcons are now 7-8 on the season.

"Wow! What an effort by the team! The last 24 hours have been full of changes, from our flights being cancelled, to having to prepare for a meet on Friday instead of Saturday," head coach Kerrie Turner said. "The team genuinely brought a positive effort and supported each other throughout the entire meet. This was a very important weekend for us to improve our Regional Qualifying Score. And I am so pleased we put together an excellent score. This meet should bring great confidence to our team going into our final home meet, as well as the MAC Championships."

The Falcons placed second on vault by scoring a season-best 49.000. Bowling Green finished second on beam (48.750), third on bars (48.950) and fourth on floor (48.550). The 48.950 on bars is Bowling Green's second-best mark on the apparatus in 2015.

Sophomore Lauren Feely had the highest individual performance, as she placed fourth on vault by registering a 9.850. Sophomore Victoria Heath tied a career best by scoring a 9.800 on vault, and senior Amanda Lievendag also notched a 9.800 on the event. The pair placed tied for sixth on vault, while Lievendag also finished tied for eighth on bars by scoring another 9.800.

Junior Caroline Ellingboe led the Falcons on bars. Ellingboe posted a 9.825 – her second-best score on the event in her career – to finish tied for fifth. Ellingboe also scored a 9.725 on beam, placing tied for 12th on that apparatus. Freshmen Laura Mitchell and Jordan Rae, as well as junior Alyssa Nocella, tied for 12th on bars by scoring a trio of 9.775 scores. Freshman Morgan Denlinger also contributed on the event, as she scored a 9.750.

Three freshmen led the Orange and Brown on beam. Mitchell (9.800) finished tied for sixth, while Rae and McKenna Schoenberger placed tied for ninth by scoring a 9.750 apiece. It marked the first time in Schoenberger's career that she competed on beam.

On floor, junior Katrina Carpenter tied a career high by scoring a 9.750, but Nocella led the team by scoring a 9.800 – she finished tied for seventh. Gina Locigno placed tied for 12th by scoring a 9.775. Nocella finished third in the all-around, and didn't post one score below a 9.725.

Senior Jamilah Ali also contributed nicely, as she scored a 9.775 on vault – the only event that she competed on.

Bowling Green will conclude the regular season on Saturday, March 14 against Kent State inside of Anderson Arena. The Senior Day meet is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Jamilah Ali, Amanda Lievendag, Gina Locigno and Alexandria Porter will be recognized before the competition for their careers at BGSU.

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