BGSU Begins MAC Schedule by Hosting Eastern Michigan

EASTERN MICHIGAN (0-2, 0-1 MAC) at BOWLING GREEN (2-0, 0-0 MAC)
Friday, January 19, 2018 | 6:00 p.m. ET | Bowling Green, Ohio | Anderson Arena
Game Notes: BGSU | USU
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Road To Nationals

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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The 2018 season continues on Friday night when the Bowling Green State University gymnastics team begins their Mid-American Conference slate by hosting Eastern Michigan University. The Eagles are the defending league champions and topped the Falcons by just one-tenth of a point at the 2017 MAC Championships. EMU also won the 2017 regular season meeting, 195.225-194.675. BGSU arrives at the meet with a spotless 2-0 record. The Eagles are 0-2 after a season-opening loss at Penn State and a loss to Central Michigan in their first MAC meet.

HEAD COACH KERRIE TURNER SAYS...
"After two consecutive wins, I am excited for our team to be back on the competition floor this Friday in front of our fantastic fans! We have spent this short training week focused on small details and having a specific style to our gymnastics. The team has been incredibly focused and eager to train and correct mistakes made in the past. I expect they will compete aggressively Friday evening. We are excited to get started with MAC competition against Eastern Michigan."

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
EMU began the 2018 season with a 192.900 in a loss at Penn State. Lacey Rubin starred and won MAC Specialist of the Week with a winning 9.850 on bars and 9.775 on beam. The Eagles rebounded to a 194.025 last week at Central Michigan. That score included a season-best event score of 48.900 on the uneven bars. Kendall Valentin led the Eagles with matching 9.875s on bars and beam. EMU is led by first-year head coach Katie Minasola, who spent 13 years as an assistant at Michigan State and Iowa State.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Bowling Green leads the series against Eastern Michigan with 26 wins as opposed to 23 losses. However, EMU has won the last three regular season meetings. In their last appearance at Anderson Arena, the Eagles won 196.600-195.425 in 2016. BGSU's last home win against EMU was in 2014 (194.600-192.525), but the Falcons are 19-4 all-time against them at home. The series dates back to BGSU's first season in 1975, when EMU became the Falcons' first-ever home opponent.

LAST TIME OUT
BGSU opened their 2018 home schedule on Saturday, Jan. 13 with their first-ever victory over Utah State. The Falcons set a school record for a season's second meet with a 194.825 team score, while the Aggies managed only 192.975. Sophomore Jovannah East (9.850) won on the vault for the second straight week and took second (9.850) on the floor. Leslie Delgado and Alex Fochler each set personal records and tied for second on the uneven bars with 9.775s. Laura Mitchell (2nd, beam) and Kayla Rose (3rd, floor) added top-three finishes. BGSU is now 35-13 all-time in home openers. Head Coach Kerrie Turner is 8-3 and has won five in a row.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Falcons have excelled throughout their history when competing at venerable Anderson Arena. With their win over Utah State, BGSU improved their all-time home record to 137-71-1 and 106-56-1 in duals. Kerrie Turner-led teams are 22-26 overall and 19-21 in duals.

MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENT
Bowling Green head coach Kerrie Turner's next win will make her the third coach in BGSU history to reach the 50-win mark. Turner is chasing Dan Connelly (80 wins) for second place on the Falcons' all-time list. Charles Simpson leads the list with 154 wins.

ELITE SCHEDULING
BGSU began the 2018 season with the MAC's hardest schedule and the 29th most difficult nationally. This is the second straight year that the team's schedule difficulty ranks in the top 30. BGSU faces two teams currently ranked in the top ten nationally (#3 Michigan, #7 Denver). The Falcons compete against four other currently-ranked teams, including Brigham Young, Illinois, and MAC foes Central Michigan and Kent State. Another opponent, Ohio State, is just outside the top 36 (#37).

NO SUCH THING AS A SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Jovannah East, the 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year, has begun her sophomore season with victories on the vault in her first two meets. She earned 9.850 with her leaps in both competitions. On the floor, she's added a 9.800 and a 9.850. East has now recorded a victory in 11 of her 15 career meets for a total of 14 event wins. In addition, East has earned a 9.800 or above in 32 of her 38 career events (.842) and has posted 9.800 or above in multiple events during 12 of her 15 career meets.

DOMINATING DEBUT
BGSU sophomore Jovannah East was an unstoppable force as a freshman during the 2017 season. On vault, her 9.870 RQS tied with senior teammate Lauren Feely for ninth in the Central Region and 28th nationally. She coompeted on the vault in 12 of BGSU's 13 meets and finished in first place seven times. She missed a top-three score only once. East posted at least a 9.850 on vault in ten of 12 meets; the rest of the team combined for only seven.

On the balance beam, East's routines resulted in a first place score in five of 12 meets and earned four of the team's ten scores of 9.850 or better. She steadily imrpoved her RQS before ending the season at 9.840. East also competed in the floor exercise but fell one performance shy of an RQS in that event. However, she earned her season best score (9.925) on the floor at the 2017 MAC Championships.

2018 SENIOR CLASS
Bowling Green features three seniors during the 2018 season. This year's class includes Shannon Goniwiecha (Rochester Hills, Mich.), India McPeak (Bangor, N. Ireland), and Laura Mitchell (London, England). Goniwiecha and Mitchell are both in their fourth year at BGSU; McPeak is in her second year after transferring from the University of Michigan.

Mitchell added to her strong 2018 start with three scores of 9.750 or better against Utah State, including a season-best 9.850 on the beam that earned second place. Mitchell's 9.825 average on the beam is currently tied for 11th in the Central Region. In six events this year, Mitchell has two top-three finishes and has placed fourth twice.

McPeak earned her third career win in the season-opening win at Michigan State with a 9.825 on the beam. She then helped the Falcons top Utah State by placing foruth on the beam with a 9.775. She is tied for 17th in the region with an average of 9.800.

Goniwiecha returned to action for the first time in nearly two years by performing on the uneven bars on Saturday against Utah State. Her triumphant comeback was rewarded with a 9.675. That is tied for her fourth-best career score on that apparatus.

OUR ROSE HAS NO THORNS
BGSU junior Kayla Rose earned a third-place finish and a 9.800 during the floor exercise competition against Utah State. It was her eighth career top-three score and her 12th consecutive meet with a floor exercise score of at least 9.750. Rose was the 2017 MAC floor exercise co-champioin and served as an alternate in the floor exercise for the NCAA Regional in Champaign, Ill. on April 1.

STEPPING IN, STEPPING UP
Sophomore Randi Morris coontinued to shine in 2018 with a fourth-place 9.750 on the vault against Utah State. Her average of 9.775 is tied for 21st in the Central Region. At Michigan State, she completed one of the best meets of her career with a pair of top-three finishes and a 9.800 or better in multiple events for only the second time.

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 14th-best team GPA nationally (3.6065) and 14 of the 20 Falcons (70 percent) were named NACGC/W Scholastic All-America. Five members of the team were recognized as Academic All-MAC following the 2017 season, and Lauren Feely earned CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American honors. She concluded her career as an Academic All-American in two straight years.

NEW FACES, HIGHER STAKES
The 2018 Falcons welcome an exciting class of eight freshmen to the team and will see immediate dividends, as several will immediately step into the lineup. This year's freshman class includes Whitney Cronin (High Point, N.C.), Alex Fochler (Cranberry Township, Pa.), Jasmine Jones (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), Nacaida Kearns (Waterford, Ohio), Elena Lawson (Marietta, Ohio), Grace Logan (Pomfret Center, Conn.), Samantha Marion (Franklin Lakes, N.J.), and Jordan Peloquin (Greenville, R.I.).

2018 COACHING STAFF
BGSU head coach Kerrie Turner returns for her 11th year at the helm of the Falcons. Jason Bauer is the Associate Head Coach and in his fourth season with the team. The Falcons have two new additions to the coaching staff for the 2018 season. Marissa Beucler is the team's new assistant coach, while Alaska Richardson will serve as a volunteer assistant. Beucler is a former student-athlete at the University of Kentucky; Richardson competed as a gymnast at West Virginia University and most recently served as a graduate assistant at the University of Toledo.

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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Whitney Cronin

Leslie Delgado

Jovannah East

Lauren Feely

Shannon Goniwiecha

Jasmine Jones

Nacaida Kearns

Elena Lawson

Grace Logan

Samantha Marion

India McPeak

Laura Mitchell

Randi Morris

Kayla Rose

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