Gymnastics Hosts Denver at Historic Stroh Center Meet

BGSU GYMNASTICS WEEKLY SCHEDULE
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME
1/30/16	vs. University of Denver	4 p.m. (ET)

Bowling Green (1-4, 0-1 MAC)
vs.
University of Denver (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)
Saturday, January 30, 2016; 4:00 p.m. ET
Stroh Center / Bowling Green, Ohio
L IVE STATS
ESPN3
MEET NOTES
PERFORMANCE LIST

Bowling Green, Ohio – For the first time in program history, the Bowling Green State University gymnastics team will hold a meet in the Stroh Center. The Falcons host the University of Denver this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. for military appreciation and alumni recognition night, and the event will be broadcast on ESPN3.

ABOUT THE MEET
Admission to the event is free and fans will receive $4 off a general admission ticket at the BGSU hockey game that night if they present the voucher at the door. Pizza will be given to the first 100 BGSU students in attendance and one lucky student could be the recipient of a free iPad or FitBit. Fans can purchase a small popcorn for $1 and a small soda for $2, as well as enter to win an autographed t-shirt. The gymnastics team will be signing post meet autographs following the competition in the Hall of Fame area at Stroh Center.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Fans can follow the BGSU Gymnastics team on Twitter @FalconGymn for in-meet updates, news and notes. Links to live stats, video (as available) and away-meet live stats can be found at BGSUFalcons.com. Fans can follow live stats by downloading the app, "Beyond The Scores," on your smartphone or tablet. Create an account, add "Bowling Green State Gym Team" to your favorites, select the meet against University of Denver, and enjoy an interactive scoring system.

HEAD COACH'S THOUGHTS
Kerrie Turner: "Saturday is truly going to be history in the making. Our program will take the spotlight in the Stroh Center for the very first time and it is going to be a great venue for gymnastics. I am so excited to welcome our fans to the Stroh and highlight several groups at this meet. Our gymnastics alumni will be returning and I expect they will bring incredible energy from the stands. In addition, we will be highlighting Military Appreciation Day. Our practice facility is located in Memorial Hall along with ROTC. We have developed a fantastic working relationship and it will be a great opportunity to thank them and all of our military personnel for the incredible work that they do. Lastly, we will have an opportunity to highlight our spirit groups on campus and say thank you for bringing exciting game day environments to so many sports.

The University of Denver is an outstanding program, having just moved to the Big XII conference for gymnastics. We will really need to bring our very best gymnastics to challenge Denver and to continue to improve on the score building we have seen in the first three competitions this season. Our program continues to overcome some injuries with both Leslie Delgado and Julia Beyer out for the season. I have seen a great sense of togetherness from the team this week and every individual working to put together solid routines to help our depth grow. The win last weekend has certainly motivated the team and I expect to see outstanding performances this weekend."

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
The Pioneers are undefeated heading into the meet versus BGSU at the Stroh Center. Denver, who is now an affiliate member of the Big 12, sits at 14th in the regular season rankings. Coached by Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart, DU as a team is ranked in the top 15 on three individual events, including ninth on vault. The Pioneers have posted scores of 195.375, 195.900 and 195.650 this season. Individually, senior Nina McGee is ranked inside the top 15 on three individual events, as well as in the all-around.

LAST TIME OUT
Lauren Feely and Alyssa Nocella took first and second place, respectively, in all-around competition on Saturday night to lead the Bowling Green State University gymnastics team to a win over Alaska Anchorage. The meet, which BGSU won by a season-high score of 194.075-191.500, is the team's largest margin of victory since Feb. 22, 2015 when the Falcons defeated the Seawolves 195.200-190.925. As a team, Bowling Green won three of the four events (vault, bars, floor), and added season-high scores on floor exercise (48.900) and balance beam (48.400). The 48.900 is the highest score on any apparatus for the Falcons this season, while the 48.400 ranks fourth on an event in 2016. BGSU also won vault with a score of 48.150. Alaska-Anchorage tied the Orange and Brown on the balance beam.

MITCHELL NAMED MAC GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
The sophomore recorded a first place finish on balance beam and two second-place finishes on floor and uneven bars versus Alaska Anchorage this past weekend. Her beam routine earned her a meet-high score of 9.875, which ties her career-high. The 9.875 is now the highest score of the season on any event for BGSU. Mitchell's floor score of 9.825 crushed her previous career-best on the event by 0.250. The sophomore is tied for second in the MAC on balance beam with a 9.825 average. In the Falcons' first two meets of the season, Mitchell scored a pair of 9.800s.

VICTORIA EUPHORIA
Victoria Heath's performances on vault and floor exercise helped her team to a victory over Alaska Anchorage this past weekend. The junior led off things for the Falcons on floor exercise, winning the event with a career-best 9.850, a score that was the second highest at the meet on any event. She also gave BGSU a crucial boost on vault, finishing in second place with a 9.675.

BG'S BEST EVENT "BAR" NONE
The Falcons have had great success on the uneven bars so far this season, ranking fourth in the MAC with an average score of 48.575. The team's high of 48.875, which earned them first place on the apparatus against WMU and EMU, is the third highest in the conference this season. BGSU took the top four spots this past weekend against Alaska Anchorage, with Nocella placing first on the event.

ALL-AROUND ALYSSA
Three-time regional qualifier Alyssa Nocella has recorded a third, sixth and second place finishes this season in all-around competition in the Falcons' first three meets of 2016. The senior earned the team's top individual score in the first two competitions of the season. Most recently, she placed second in all-around with a 38.350 against UAA, and finished tied for third on vault (9.650), first on uneven bars (9.800), second on balance beam with a season-high (9.800) and added an 11th place finish on floor.

THE CHAMP IS BACK
Returner Lauren Feely became the third Falcon in as many years to win at least a share of the MAC Vault Championship, as she scored a career-best 9.900 on the event in 2015. In BGSU's first two meets of 2016, she recorded identical all-around scores of 38.725. This past weekend she won the event with a 38.500, and also placed first on vault with a season-high score of 9.800. Her highest score of the night came on floor exercise with a season-high 9.825, earning her second place.

NEWCOMERS TAKE OVER
The 2016 BGSU roster features eight freshmen and one redshirt-freshman who will all look to compete for the first time as collegiate gymnasts in 2016. The newcomers include Julia Beyer, Rachel Creagh, Lauren De Meno, Leslie Delgado, Chelsea Eley, Erika Houser, Taylor Livingston, Katie Morsefield and Kayla Rose. Rose earned the highest freshman score of the meet by a Falcon with a 9.750 on floor exercise, which is a new personal best.

TOP ROUTINES IN 2016

All-Around: 38.925 | Alyssa Nocella (1/8/16 vs. at ASU vs. Nebraska)

Bars: 9.825 | Caroline Ellingboe, Alyssa Nocella (1/17/16 vs. at WMU vs. EMU)

Beam: 9.875 | Laura Mitchell (1/23/16 vs. Alaska)

Floor: 9.850 | Alyssa Nocella (1/8/16 vs. at ASU vs. Nebraska), Victoria Heath (1/23/16 vs. Alaska)

Vault: 9.800 | Lauren Feely (1/23/16 vs. Alaska)

MAC RANKINGS

Listed below are the student-athletes, and their averages, who rank top 10 in the conference in each event.

Vault- 9. Victoria Heath 9.742, 10. Lauren Feely 9.733

Bars- 9. Alyssa Nocella 9.783

Beam- 2. Laura Mitchell 9.825

Floor- t10. Alyssa Nocella 9.775

All-Around- 5. Lauren Feely 38.650, 7. Alyssa Nocella 38.533

PRESEASON POLL
The Falcons were picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference in 2016 as voted on by the league's head coaches. Central Michigan was selected to win the conference, while 2015 tournament winners Kent State were chosen second. Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green followed, with Northern Illinois and Western Michigan tying for fifth and Ball State rounding out the conference.

GYMNASTICS ADDITIONS
In November, Turner announced the addition of five student-athletes for the 2017 season. Randi Morris, Shannon St. Jean, Alex Johnston, Taylor Worthington and Kelsi Kuprat have all committed to BGSU, and will join the team next fall. Additionally, the Falcons added Leslie Delgado to this season's squad in December.

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Julia Beyer

Rachel Creagh

Leslie Delgado

Lauren DeMeno

Chelsea Eley

Caroline Ellingboe

Lauren Feely

Victoria Heath

Erika Houser

Taylor Livingston

Laura Mitchell

Katie Morsefield

Alyssa Nocella

Kayla Rose

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