Falcons Host New Hampshire for Saturday Dual Meet

#27 NEW HAMPSHIRE (9-2, 2-1 EAGL) at BOWLING GREEN (1-10, 0-2 MAC)
Fri., February 11, 2017 | 2:30 p.m. ET | Bowling Green, Ohio | Anderson Arena (2,800)
Game Notes: BGSU
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Road To Nationals

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COACH'S THOUGHTS
"This weekend marks an opportunity to build on our score from past Sunday. The team has been motivated in practice, and I expect that to show in competition. Our bar line up will see some new faces. Rachel Reis will be resting this weekend, therefore Lexi Augustine will be stepping back into the lineup after returning from injury. In addition, Julia Beyer will exhibition on bars, returning from an ACL tear last year. I am excited to see some competition for lineup spots on bars in the coming weeks, and I expect that will raise the standard on that event. I don't expect any major changes on vault, beam or floor lineups this weekend. Katie Morsefield has been cleared to compete after returning from injury, and her vault is nearly ready for competition. She may be ready to exhibition on Saturday. Lastly, I am so pleased to welcome the LGBTQ community, International Students and We Are One Team to Anderson Arena. BGSU is a place to celebrate diversity and inclusion, and our program welcomes the beautifully diverse population on our campus.."

-- BGSU Gymnastics Head Coach Kerrie Turner

DAY OF INCLUSION
The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team takes a brief break from Mid-American Conference action this weekend, when they host the University of New Hampshire Wildcats at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11 at venerable Anderson Arena. The Falcons will partner with We Are One Team BG (WA1T) to celebrate a day of inclustion and will host LGBTQ Day and International Students Day on Saturday.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Bowling Green features a 1-8 all-time record against New Hampshire. The Falcons and Wildcats first met in 1987, and BGSU defeated UNH 176.500-173.250 in the teams' only meeting in Bowling Green. The pair have only met once during the Kerrie Turner era, in a 2009 quad meet at California-Davis. UNH won that head-to-head matchup 192.525-192.400.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
New Hampshire arrives at Bowling Green with a 9-2 record during the 2017 season. The Wildcats swept a season-opening quad meet at Rutgers, as well as a home tri-meet with Pittsburgh and Southern Connecticut. In their only dual of the season, UNH defeated Utah State 195.175-194.075. Last weekend, UNH finished second in a quad meet at #16 George Washington, as they defeated Ball State and Towson with a final tally of 196.075. That is their best team score to date; the Wildcats currently rank 27th nationally with a team average of 194.815. In addition, head coach Gail Goodspeed is two wins from her 600th as UNH head coach.

Individually, Danielle Mulligan is tied for 11th nationally and leads the EAGL on the uneven bars (9.875 average). Meghan Pflieger is sixth in the EAGL in the all-around and is ranked third (9.855) for the floor exercise. This week, Mulligan earned EAGL Co-Specialist of the Week honors, while freshman Riley Freehling was named EAGL Rookie of the Week.

LAST TIME OUT
Bowling Green dropped a pair of Mid-American Conference dual meets last weekend at Northern Illinois and at home against Western Michigan.

Against the Huskies, the Falcons fell 194.875-192.875. The team topped NIU on beam with a 48.675 and added a 48.725 on the floor. Jovannah East won the vault with a 9.850 and finished in a three-way tie for first with another 9.850. Teammate India McPeak was also part of that first-place tie.

Against the Broncos, BGSU posted a season-best total of 194.800 and also earned season-best team scores on the uneven bars (48.425) and balance beam (48.800). Lauren Feely (9.925) and Jovannah East (9.875) finished first and second on vault, while Taylor Worthington (9.850) and Laura Mitchell (9.825) did so on beam.

Jovannah East (9.844 average) was named MAC Specialist of the Week.

ALL-TIME HOME RECORD
The Falcons are 134-69-1 all-time when hosting meets in Bowling Green and 103-54-1 when those meets are duals. During the Kerrie Turner era, those records are 19-24 (overall) and 16-19 (duals).

MAC LEADERS
Through five weeks of the 2017 season, the Falcons enjoy the best team scores in the Mid-American Conference on the vault (48.792) and the balance beam (48.554). In addition, Jovannah East (9.830) leads the MAC vault rankings.

SENIOR STYLE
Lauren Feely easily had her best routine of the season with a 9.925 vault against Western Michigan on Feb. 5. That score is tied for the second-best in BGSU history. Earlier this season, 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. Feely aided the effort with a 9.850, which topped her 9.825 at Penn State. The Falcons' third senior, Rachel Reis, owns three of the Falcons' top four scores of 2017 on the uneven bars, and she posted a season-best 9.800 at Utah State. At the Metroplex meet, Heath equaled her best floor routine of 2017 with a 9.800, while Feely posted season-best scores on the uneven bars and balance beam.

GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION
Freshman Jovannah East needed just one meet to establish herself as one of BGSU'stop 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. After missing the home opener, East returned to action in Fort Worth and won the vault with a PR of 9.850. She also tied for sixth on the beam with another 9.825. Last weekend, she added two more wins, two more personal records and was 9.800 or better in all four of her routines. The best of the four was a 9.875 vault versus WMU. She was named MAC Specialist of the Week on Feb. 7. East has four total wins in 2017 and eight of her ten routines have been 9.800 or better. She leads the MAC on vault (9.830).

THE MCPEAK OF SUCCESS
Junior India McPeak, who tranferred to BGSU from the University of Michigan, had her best meet as a Falcon at Northern Illinois. McPeak set new personal records on beam (9.850) and floor (9.800), and her beam routine resulted in a tie for first place. Against Illinois State, she equaled her then-personal best on beam (9.800) and posted a 9.700 on the floor. She also continued good work with a 9.650 on the vault. McPeak 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 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.

"WORTH" EVERY PENNY
Taylor Worthington continues to improve as her freshman season with the Falcons progresses. In her first home meet at BGSU, she finished second on the balance beam with a personal-best 9.825. In her next home meet against WMU, she won on the beam with a 9.850. That mark is tied for the best by any Falcon on the apparatus in 2017. Her beam score has progressively improved, from 9.125 to 9.750 to 9.825 and now 9.850. Worthington also notched a 9.675 on vault against the Redbirds. In Fort Worth, she set a new personal best on vault and tied for tenth with a 9.750.

RANKED IN THE MAC
Bowling Green has several gymnasts ranked in the Mid-American Conference top ten lists after five weeks of action. On the balance beam, Jovannah East is second in the MAC with a 9.760 average, while India McPeak has averaged 9.704 and now ranks tenth in the MAC. The team (48.554) leads the league in that event. On vault, East (9.830) leads the MAC, and Lauren Feely (9.813) is second. The team's 48.792 average on vault is tops in 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.

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Lexi Augustine

Julia Beyer

Jovannah East

Lauren Feely

Victoria Heath

Alex Johnston

India McPeak

Laura Mitchell

Randi Morris

Katie Morsefield

Rachel Reis

Shannon St. Jean

Taylor Worthington

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