Falcons Begin 2018 Season at Michigan State

Friday, January 5

East Lansing, Mich.

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Michigan State

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

January 04, 2018 | Gymnastics

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communicationis Assistant

BOWLING GREEN (0-0, 0-0 MAC) at MICHIGAN STATE (0-0, 0-0 B10)
Friday, January 5, 2018 | 6:00 p.m. ET | East Lansing, Mich. | Jenison Field House (5,017)

Game Notes: BGSU | MSU
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Road To Nationals

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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team begins the 2018 season on Friday evening (Jan. 5) against the Michigan State Spartans. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be held in East Lansing, Mich. at the Jenison Field House. This will be the fourth meeting between the schools in the last four seasons, with BGSU winning twice in 2015. The teams also met last season in East Lansing, with MSU capturing a 195.600-193.600 decision. The meet also marks the start of Kerrie Turner's 11th season as head coach of the Falcons.

COACH'S THOUGHTS
"This opening meet of the 2018 season is an important opportunity to start the season well. I have asked our gymnasts to focus on replicating the routines performed in practice on the competition floor at Michigan State. We have worked throughout the fall to prepare routines but also be focused on the small details. We will also be taking the approach of competing our most consistent student-athletes and competing the skills we are doing well at this time, knowing we have many meets to continue to improve routines and difficulty. This is the start of the journey through the season, and I am so excited to get started! "

-- BGSU Gymnastics Head Coach Kerrie Turner

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Michigan State returns to the mat in 2018 following a tie for sixth at the 2017 Big Ten Championships and a regular season during which the team went 7-11 (1-8 Big Ten). The top returner for the Spartans is senior Hailee Westney, who qualified for the NCAA Regionals on the uneven bars in 2017. MSU also returns sophomore Gabriella Douglas, who was named a 2018 "Gymnast to Watch" by the Big Ten. In addition, the Spartans will have seven freshmen on a squad of 18.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
BGSU and Michigan State have met in competition 18 times dating back to 1983, with the Spartans owning a 15-3 edge in the series. During the Kerrie Turner era at BGSU, the two teams have faced each other three times. The first meeting was in the 2015 season opener at Anderson Arena, which the Falcons won 194.775-194.075. That was also the Falcons' most recent victory their first meet of a season. Later in 2015, the Falcons competed in a quad meet hosted by the Spartans, and BGSU finished second (195.250). MSU placed third (194.350). Michigan State returned the favor by downing the Falcons last season in East Lansing.

ELITE SCHEDULING
BGSU begins 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. To determine schedule strength, each team is assigned points based on their final 2017 ranking. Last year, Falcon opponents totaled 646 points based on final 2016 standings; this year's slate is even tougher, as 2018 opponents totaled 703 points (54.08 average). BGSU faces two teams ranked in the top ten of the NACGC/W preseason coaches poll (#7 Michigan, #8 Denver). The Falcons also face #22 Ohio State, #23 Illinois, #32 Utah State, and #34 Brigham Young. In total, six of BGSU's nine non-conference opponents are ranked, and two others received votes in the poll. Of the six teams in the MAC, three are ranked in the preseason top 36, and both BGSU and Northern Illinois received votes.

ACHIEVING GREATNESS
Bowling Green capped the 2017 season with one of its greatest-ever team performances. At the 2017 MAC Championships, hosted by BGSU at the Stroh Center, the Falcons posted their second-highest team total in school history (196.400) and took second place in the meet, just one-tenth of a point behind champion Eastern Michigan. It was the Falcons' best MAC Championships finish in 30 years. Kayla Rose punctuated the effort in the final individual routine of the meet by nailing a 9.950 in the floor exercise. That earned her a share of the MAC championship in that event and BGSU's best individual score of the meet. India McPeak scored a 9.925 to earn second in the balance beam, while Lauren Feely and Jovannah East shared a tie for second on the vault (9.850). East (9.925) took third in the floor exercise. BGSU has now finished third or better at the MACs in three of the last four years and has set a new school record for team score at the MACs in consecutive years.

MAKING HISTORY NOW
Lauren Feely and Jovannah East each qualified for the NCAA Regional in Champaign, Ill. during the 2017 season. Feely competed on the vault and earned a tie for seventh with a 9.800. East, who returns for her sophomore season in 2018, became the first BGSU gymnast ever to qualify as an individual for Regionals in multiple events. She qualified on vault and matched Feely's 9.800, and she also qualified on the balance beam, where she scored a 9.800 for a 22nd-place tie.

2018 SENIOR CLASS
Bowling Green will feature 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 will be the team's most veteran gymnast in 2018 and built momentum for her senior season with a fantastic finish to 2017. At the MAC Championships, she scored 9.850 on both the uneven bars and floor exercise and added a 9.875 on the balance beam in defense of her 2016 MAC title. She placed in the top ten in all three events. Mitchell's effort completed a season in which she posted a team-best 9.825 RQS on bars and added a 9.825 for floor and 9.815 on the beam. She earned four event victories during the season and added a new floor exercise personal record (9.850).

McPeak ended her first season as a Falcon in style. She tied the BGSU record of 9.925 and placed second on the balance beam at the 2017 MAC Championships. At Northern Illinois. McPeak tied for first on beam (9.850) and set a floor exercisce personal record (9.800). She added a first-place tie on beam at Michigan State. McPeak ended the season with the team's second-best beam RQS (9.825).

Goniwiecha missed all of 2017 with an injury; However, she helped BGSU qualify for the NCAA Regionals as a team during her sophomore season in 2016. In that season, she set a career best on vault at North Carolina with a 9.750 and earned a 9.700 or better five times on that apparatus. She also competed on the uneven bars, earning a personal record 9.750 at Kent State and a 9.700 or better six times.

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.

OUR ROSE HAS NO THORNS
BGSU sophomore Kayla Rose will serve as an alternate for the floor exercise competition at the Champaign Regional on April 1. Rose was part of the Falcons' floor exercise lineup in all 13 meets, but it was during the final month of the season when she truly dazzled. Rose finished the season with five straight scores of 9.850 or better and an RQS of 9.840. She was the final performer at the 2017 MAC Championships, and her routine resulted in a 9.950 from the judges. The score was a career-best for Rose and gave her a floor exercose co-MAC championship.

STEPPING IN, STEPPING UP
Freshman Randi Morris assisted in the Falcons' victory over Ball State last week with a 9.800 and a tie for second place in the floor exercise. She added a fifth-place tie on the vault (9.775) and scored 9.750 in her first official balance beam effort. Morris had a pair of 9.800s in the previous meet against New Hampshire.

"WORTH" EVERY PENNY
Taylor Worthington was a fixture in BGSU's vault and balance beam lineups throughout her freshman season with the Falcons. 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. At CMU, she was the Falcons' top beam scorer (9.825). Worthington ended the season with a 9.805 RQS on beam.

ALL-TIME HOME RECORD
The Falcons are 136-71-1 all-time when hosting meets in Bowling Green and 105-56-1 when those meets are duals. During the Kerrie Turner era, those records are 21-26 (overall) and 18-21 (duals).

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.