Bowling Green Hosts Ball State in Annual Pink Meet on Saturday

BALL STATE (4-6, 2-0 MAC) at BOWLING GREEN (1-11, 0-2 MAC)
Sat., February 18, 2017 | 4:00 p.m. ET | Bowling Green, Ohio | Anderson Arena (2,800)
Game Notes: BGSU
Live Stats | Facebook Live
Road To Nationals

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

COACH'S THOUGHTS
"I am so excited about the Pink Meet this weekend. Our team and fans have a chance to show support for breast cancer awareness. Gymnastically, we host a MAC opponent, and we will be striving to pick up the win. With six meets left, three home and three away, we have the opportunity to build a new RQS score. We have focused on details and putting extra pressure on our bar line up this week. Results must be strong on Saturday..."

-- BGSU Gymnastics Head Coach Kerrie Turner

2017 PINK MEET
The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team honors the fight against breast cancer by hosting the team's annual Pink Meet at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18. The Falcons will face Mid-American Conference foe Ball State in the afternoon dual meet at Anderson Arena. BGSU is 0-2 thus far against MAC teams and is seeking its second overall win of 2017. The Cardinals are 2-0 in the MAC following a win over Central Michigan last weekend.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Bowling Green owns a 25-15 lead in the all-time series against Ball State. The Cardinals were the opponent in BGSU's first-ever intercollegiate meet in 1975, and the Falcons won that day 73.25-66.80. The teams first met at BGSU in 1979, and the Falcons won that meet, 123.60-105.15. Bowling Green is 14-4 at home against Ball State and 5-3 during the Kerrie Turner era. In the last meeting at BGSU, the Falcons won 195.500-193.875 in 2015. Last season, BSU defeated the Falcons in Muncie.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Ball State has begun the season 4-6 overall and 2-0 against MAC teams. The Cardinals finished third (193.625) in their season-opening tri-meet against Missouri and Illinois, then defeated Northern Illinois in a dual for their first win of the season. The Cardinals have also won a tri-meet at North Carolina State and finished fourth in a quad at George Washington. Most recently, they defeated Central Michigan 195.425-194.000. BSU is 37th nationally and third in the MAC in team average (194.396). They are also 27th nationally on the vault (48.814).

Individually, junior Jordyn Penny is 71st nationally and sixth in the MAC (9.821) on the uneven bars. The Cardinals have several other gymnasts in the MAC's top ten lists, including Maddie McDonald and Bri Slonim (vault), Jackie Duffy (balance beam), and Kaitlyn Menzione and Sarah Ebeyer (floor). BSU head coach Joanna Saleem is in her fourth season.

LAST TIME OUT
Bowling Green lost a dual meet against New Hampshire on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Anderson Arena. The Falcons posted a 193.850 team score against the 194.700 of UNH. However, the Falcons set season-best team marks on the balance beam (49.000) and floor exercise (48.825), and they topped the Wildcats in three of the four events. Several Falcons set personal records, including Jovannah East and Taylor Worthington, who shared the beam title with matching 9.875s. East also won on the vault (9.850).

ALL-TIME HOME RECORD
The Falcons are 134-70-1 all-time when hosting meets in Bowling Green and 103-55-1 when those meets are duals. During the Kerrie Turner era, those records are 19-25 (overall) and 16-20 (duals).

WE'RE NUMBER ONE!
Through six weeks of the 2017 season, the Falcons continue to enjoy the best team scores in the Mid-American Conference on the vault (48.814) and the balance beam (48.618). In addition, Jovannah East (9.833) leads the MAC vault rankings. East has scored a 9.850 or better on the vault in each of her last four meets.

ON THE NATIONAL SCENE
BGSU's vault and balance beam lineups hover just outside of the nation's top 25. The Falcons' vault average (48.814) ranks 26th, just behind Minnesota (48.817). Bowling Green is ranked 28th nationally on the balance beam (48.618) and is less than a tenth of a point behind #25 Stanford (48.688). Freshman Jovannah East continues to climb the national leaderboard on vault and is now inside the top 50. Her 9.833 average is currently 47th.

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 five of the Falcons' top eight routines 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'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. 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. Two weeks ago, 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. On Feb. 11, she won again on vault and beam, and her beam score (9.875) set another PR. East has six wins in 2017 and ten of her 12 routines have been 9.800 or better.

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. She added a 9.825 in the floor exercise against New Hampshire. That earned second place and set a new personal record. She also notched a 9.825 on the beam against UNH. 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.

STEPPING IN, STEPPING UP
Freshman Randi Morris completed routines in all four events against New Hampshire on Feb. 11, including an exhibition on the balance beam. She scored a pair of 9.800s on the vault and floor exercise, and the latter was a new personal best. At the season-opening quad at Penn State, she competed on the floor 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.

"WORTH" EVERY PENNY
Taylor Worthington continues to improve as her freshman season with the Falcons progresses. On Feb. 11 versus New Hampshire, she had an outstanding beam routine that scored a personal-best 9.875 and tied for first place. 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. Her beam score has progressively icreased, from 9.125 to 9.750 to 9.825, 9.850, and now 9.875. 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 six weeks of action. On the balance beam, Jovannah East is second in the MAC with a 9.779 average, while India McPeak has averaged 9.721 and is tied for sixth. The team (48.618) leads the league in that event. On vault, East (9.833) leads the MAC, and Lauren Feely (9.814) is second. The team's 48.814 average on vault is tops in the league.

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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