Falcons Vault to Season Opening Victory at Michigan State

Friday, January 5

East Lansing, Mich.

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

194.000

193.350

Michigan State

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

January 05, 2018 | Gymnastics

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communicationis Assistant

MEET RESULTS (.PDF)

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team rang in the new year in celebratory fashion with a season-opening victory over Michigan State University on Friday night (Jan. 5). The Falcons won their debut meet of a season for the first time since 2015; that also occurred against the Spartans. BGSU's 194.400 cumulative score is the third-best in program history for the first meet of a season, while MSU managed a 193.350. Bowling Green is now 4-14 all-time against Michigan State; however, they are 3-1 against the Spartans under head coach Kerrie Turner.

BGSU led off the meet on the uneven bars in the first rotation. A pair of falls hurt and led to a 47.775 in the event, but MSU also struggled on the vault, as they registered only 47.975. The Falcons rebounded on the vault with a 48.650, including an event-winning 9.850 from sophomore Jovannah East. However, the Spartans excelled on the bars (48.900) and led by 0.450 halfway through the meet.

The meet's pivotal moments came in the third rotation, when BGSU put together its best event score of the night (48.875) in the floor exercise while MSU had its worst (47.575) on the balance beam. Three Falcons earned 9.800 or above for their floor routines, led by Randi Morris, who placed third overall with a 9.825. 2017 MAC co-champion Kayla Rose began her season with a 9.750. Michigan State responded with a strong 48.900 on the floor in the final rotation, but Bowling Green's 48.700 on the beam was enough to clinch the win. Freshman Nacaida Kearns and senior India McPeak shared the beam win with a pair of 9.825s.

HEAD COACH KERRIE TURNER SAYS...
"I am incredibly pleased with the effort this team put forth on the road tonight. We have many areas to improve but this was a strong start. I am particularly proud that the team continued to build even after counting a fall on bars. They never gave up and stayed focused through every event. Our returners showed their experience in competition. It was equally exciting to see so many new faces in our line ups. This team will get back in the gym, work on mistakes and details and build on this experience as we return for our home opener next weekend."

NOTE OF THE NIGHT...
Jovannah East, the 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year, began her sophomore season by competing in three events at Michigan State. She won the vault competition with a 9.850 and finished tied for fourth on the beam (9.750) and the floor (9.800). East has now recorded a victory in 10 of her 14 career meets for a total of 13 event wins. In addition, East has earned a 9.800 or above in 30 of her 35 career events and has posted 9.800 or above in multiple events during 11 of her 14 career meets.

FACTS AND FIGURES...

This meet marked the start of the 44th season in BGSU Gymnastics history.
Only the 2001 team (194.825) and 2015 team (194.775) ever scored higher in a season opener.
This meet began Kerrie Turner's 11th season as head coach of the Falcons. The win was the 48th of her career, leaving her two shy of 50.
Turner is the third head coach in Falcon history, and she will tie for the second-longest tenure at the conclusion of the season.
Senior India McPeak earned her third event win at BGSU with a 9.825 on the beam.
That beam victory was shared by freshman Nacaida Kearns. Kearns also competed on the vault and tied for fourth with a 9.700.
In additioin to Kearns, Elena Lawson, Grace Logan, and Alexandra Fochler also made their team debuts.
Leslie Delgado competed for the first time since 2016 and placed sixth overall on the uneven bars (9.750).
Sophomore Randi Morris had one of the best meets of her career with second place (vault) and third place (floor) routines.
Morris tied her personal best with a 9.800 on the vault and posted her second-best career score (9.825) on the floor.
Laura Mitchell (beam) and Lauren DeMeno (vault) also posted third-place finishes.
Mitchell competed in three of four events, earning a 9.700 or better in each.

UP NEXT...
Bowling Green returns to the mat on Saturday, Jan. 13 when the Falcons host the Utah State Aggies. The meet will begin at 2:00 p.m. and will be held at Anderson Arena. This will be the first of two meetings between the Falcons and Aggies in 2018; Utah State will join BGSU in Toledo, Ohio on Feb. 23 for the Elevate the Stage meet. The two schools have met twice previously, with USU winning on both occasions. Utah State is making their first-ever trip to Bowling Green, and this serves as their season-opening meet. The Aggies enter the season ranked 32nd in the NACGC/W preseason coaches poll.