Falcons Open 2017 Home Slate on Saturday Versus Illinois State

Saturday, January 21

Bowling Green, Ohio

4:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

Illinois State

January 20, 2017 | Gymnastics

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communicationis Assistant

UTAH STATE (3-0) at BOWLING GREEN (0-5)
Sat., Jan. 21, 2017 | 4:30 p.m. ET | Bowling Green, Ohio | Anderson Arena (2,800)
Game Notes: BGSU | Live Stats
Road To Nationals

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MARCH 18, 2017 -- STROH CENTER
Adults: $15, 12-and-under: $10, MAC Students: Free (w/ College ID)

VIDEO INTERVIEWS
Alex Johnston | Jovannah East

COACH'S THOUGHTS
"Returning to Anderson Arena for our home opener is such a thrill. I feel very positive about the improvement I continue to see from our athletes, and I believe we will have an excellent opportunity to score well this weekend. We plan to have our floor lineup at full strength after having just five athletes last weekend, with the addition of Laura Mitchell on Saturday. Vault and beam continue to look strong, and our bar line up will fight for every tenth as improvement continue to be made. Much of our success will come down to mentality. I have no doubt that our amazing home crowd will pump up the positive environment in Anderson."

-- BGSU Gymnastics Head Coach Kerrie Turner

SATURDAY AFTERNOON SPECIAL
The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team will open the home portion of their 2017 schedule by hosting the Illinois State University Redbirds on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The meet will be held at Anderson Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio and will be the first dual meet of the season for both teams. The Falcons will host five meets in 2017, all of which will be duals.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Bowling Green owns a 12-7 lead in the all-time series with Illinois State. The Falcons and Redbirds first met at BGSU in 1981, and the Falcons were victorious. BGSU won seven of the first eight meetings and has also won five of the last six dating back to 1998. The teams have only met twice, both times in Normal, Ill., during the Kerrie Turner era. ISU defeated the Falcons 191.675-190.800 in 2009, but BGSU returned the favor last season with a 194.175-192.225 victory. The Falcons are 4-2 against the Redbirds in duals at home but have not hosted ISU since 2006.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Illinois State began the 2017 season by winning the four-team Ozone Collegiate Classic on Saturday, Jan. 14. The meet was held in Knoxville, Tenn., and the Redbirds faced Centenary College, Temple and Wisconsin-Eau Claire. ISU finished the meet with an overall team score of 192.550, which topped Temple's 192.225. The cumulative score was also well ahead of Centenary (186.300) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire (185.950). Sophomore Meredith LaRoche won the all-around competition by totaling 38.925 on the four events. LaRoche was co-champion on floor (9.750) and beam (9.700); she also placed third on bars (9.750). Freshman Anna Marema won on the uneven bars after earning a 9.800, as ISU gymnasts took the top three spots in that event.

LAST TIME OUT
BGSU finished third on Friday, Jan. 13 in a tri-meet at Utah State University that also included then-no. 16 North Carolina State. However, the Falcons registered significant scoring improvements over their first meet. The team's cumulative score rose by 2.550 to 193.275, while they pushed their uneven bars score north by 2.150 to 48.375. The Falcons also improved on vault (+0.450) and floor (+0.275).

Individually, the Falcons had their best success on vault, as all six gymnasts earned marks of 9.675 or better and four posted 9.800 or better. That group was led by senior Victoria Heath, whose 9.875 won the event and set a new personal vault record. Lauren Feely added a 9.850, while freshmen Randi Morris and Jovannah East each contributed marks of 9.800.

HOME OPENERS
Bowling Green has found incredible success annually in their first home meet. In the team's first 42 seasons, they have gone 33-13 (.717) in home openers, including sweeps of four tri-meets. The team's record in their first home dual of the season is 28-14 (.667). Kerrie Turner has continued that tradition in her nine seasons as head coach with a 6-3 record in the first home meet. That includes a current three-meet winning streak against Eastern Michigan, Michigan State and Alaska-Anchorage.

ALL-TIME HOME RECORD
The Falcons are 134-68-1 all-time when hosting meets in Bowling Green and 103-53-1 when those meets are duals. During the Kerrie Turner era, those records are 19-23 (overall) and 16-18 (duals).

SENIOR STYLE
Victoria Heath set a new personal standard with an amazing 9.875 vault at Utah State. That leap led BGSU to it's first 49.000+ team event score of 2017. Fellow senior Lauren Feely aided the effort with a 9.850, which topped her 9.825 at Penn State. The Falcons' third senior, Rachel Reis, owns two of the Falcons' top three scores of 2017 on the uneven bars, and she posted a season-best 9.800 at Utah State.

GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION
Freshman Jovannah East needed just one meet to establish herself as one of BGSU's top performers. In her first college routine, she earned a 9.825 on the balance beam, ultimately winning the co-championship in the event at Penn State. Later, she posted a 9.775 to take third place on vault. East continued her good work in the second meet at Utah State by adding a 9.800 on vault.

THE MCPEAK OF SUCCESS
Junior India McPeak, who tranferred to BGSU from the University of Michigan, began her Falcon career with a 9.800 on the balance beam at Penn State. It was one of three 9.800-or-better scores for the Falcons during the quad meet and helped her acheive third place on beam in her collegiate debut. At Utah State, McPeak led the Falcons and placed sixth overall on beam by earning a 9.775.

STEPPING IN, STEPPING UP
Freshman Randi Morris competed in the floor exercise in the season-opening quad at Penn State and was originally scheduled to do the same at Utah State. However, necessary late lineup changes thrust Morris into a much greater role, and she responded well. She improved from 9.650 to 9.700 on the floor but added routines on vault and the uneven bars. Her 9.800 was tied for the team's third best vault and helped the Falcons earn a season-best 49.050 on the apparatus. On the bars, she had the team's third-best score (9.675) and helped key BGSU's two-point improvement over the first meet.

RANKED IN THE MAC
Bowling Green has several gymnasts ranked in the Mid-American Conference top ten lists after two weeks of action. India McPeak has averaged 9.787 on the balance beam and ranks sixth in the MAC, while the team (48.163) is third in that event. On vault, Lauren Feely (9.838) leads the MAC, while freshman Randi Morris (9.800) is second. Jovannah East and Victoria Heath are both in a four-way tie for third at 9.787. The team's 48.825 average on vault leads the MAC.

ELITE SCHEDULING
The Falcons' strength of schedule is ranked 29th nationally headed into the 2017 season. The rating is tabulated by reverse-assigning points to each team based on their final 2016 ranking. BGSU's opponents combined to provide 646 points for an average of 49.69. Ten of Bowling Green's 16 opponents are ranked in the 2017 preseason coaches' poll; that includes seven of the team's ten non-conference opponents.

ROUTINE GREATNESS
Bowling Green produced three of the school's top ten all-time team scores in 2016. In a meet against Ohio State and West Virginia, the Falcons posted a 195.725, a mark only eclipsed five times in school history. On Senior Night against Northern Illinois, BGSU shattered the school record with a 196.500. Only once previously in team history had the Falcons broken the 196 barrier. Finally, at the MAC Championships, BGSU scored a 195.625. It was the best team score ever for the Falcons at the MACs and was the tenth-best in team history.

MAKING HISTORY NOW
The Falcons qualified as a team for the NCAA Regionals in 2016. It was the team's first trip to the NCAA postseason in 25 years and the seventh in school history. Bowling Green finished the event with an overall mark of 193.850, the best-ever team score at the event for BGSU. The Falcons also have regional appearances in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1991.

WE'VE GOT THAT CHAMPIONSHIP FEEL-Y
Senior Lauren Feely will go down as one of the best gymnasts in BGSU history. She owns a place on BGSU's all-time top-ten individual score lists for vault, floor exercise and all-around competition. She is also just the fifth athlete in team history to win multiple MAC championships and the first since Marny Oestreng (1999-2002). She took the vault championship in 2015, then last season, won the all-around championship with a 39.300. Feely is a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2016.

PUTTING THE STUDENT IN STUDENT-ATHLETE
Falcon gymnasts value excellence in the classroom just as much as they do in the gym. Last July, BGSU was recognized as having the 19th-best team GPA nationally (3.5312) and nine Falcons were named NACGC/W Scholastic All-America. Five members of the team were recognized as Academic All-MAC following the 2016 season, and Lauren Feely earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors. In 2016's fall semester, the team GPA rose to 3.677 and nine Falcons carried 4.0 averages.

NEW FACES, HIGHER STAKES
The 2017 Falcons feature an exciting class of newcomers that could make an immediate impact for BGSU and push the returning athletes to new heights. The roster will include six freshmen (Lexi Augustine, Jovannah East, Alex Johnston, Randi Morris, Shannon St. Jean and Taylor Worthington), as well as India McPeak, who is a junior transfer from the University of Michigan.

PRESEASON POLL
The Falcons were picked to finish tied for third in the Mid-American Conference in 2017 as voted on by the league's head coaches. Kent State was selected to win the conference, while Central Michigan was chosen to place second. Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green followed, with Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Ball State rounding out the conference. In a show of the parity within the conference, each team received one first-place vote in the poll.

GYMNASTICS ADDITIONS
BGSU and head coach Kerrie Turner announced the signings of four student-athletes for the 2018 season in November. The additions are Whitney Cronin (High Point, N.C.), Alexandra Fochler (Cranberry Township, Pa.), Nacaida Kearns (Waterford, Ohio) and Samantha Marion (Franklin Lakes, N.J.).

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. For home meets, 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, and enjoy an interactive scoring system.