Gymnastics Set for Sunday Dual at New Hampshire

BOWLING GREEN (3-5, 1-2 MAC) at NEW HAMPSHIRE (4-4, 3-2 EAGL)
Sunday, February 18, 2018 | 1:00 p.m. ET | Durham, N.H. | Lundholm Gymnasium
Game Notes: BGSU
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team seeks to bolster their Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) and get back on the winning track when they head to Durham, N.H. this weekend for a dual meet against the University of New Hampshire. The meet will be held in Durham, N.H. at Lundholm Gymnasium, and it is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 18). The two squads are meeting for the second straight season; the Wildcats defeated the Falcons at Anderson Arena in 2017. At the halfway point of the season, BGSU owns an RQS of 194.530 and an overall average of 194.692, which ranks 38th nationally. The Wildcats have risen to 36th with a 194.821 average.

HEAD COACH KERRIE TURNER SAYS...
"I am confident that the team will perform well this weekend based on what I have seen in training this week. There is no doubt there was a great deal of disappointment in how we competed last weekend, and that has really inspired the team to revisit our goals and focus on improving. We ran through the beam line-up today, and the gymnasts really performed well. I don't expect any major line up changes this weekend. We need to stay focused on our own gymnastics and work to compete as a cohesive team on Sunday."

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
New Hampshire has been much improved for the last month. They have posted 195+ in four consecutive meets, beginning with a 195.175 at Pittsburgh. The Wildcats boosted their score to 195.925 against George Washington and 196.125 in a win over North Carolina, before defeating Towson last weekend with a 195.775. Overall, UNH has moved into 36th place (194.821) in the national rankings and has the 21st ranked beam unit (48.821). The Wildcats have six gymnasts in the nation's top 100 of their respective events, including Lauren Diggan, who ranks 37th nationally and leads the EAGL on the bars (9.842). Danielle Mulligan is in the EAGL top ten on beam (9.785) and floor (9.825); her floor score ranks in the Northeast region top 10 and top 100 nationally. UNH head coach Gail Goodspeed is in her 39th season.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
BGSU defeated New Hampshire in the first meeting between the two schools with a 176.500-173.250 dual meet victory at home in 1987. Since that time, the Wildcats have won nine consecutive in the series, including two previous meets during the Kerrie Turner era. The Falcons have traveled to Durham, N.H. just three times and not at all since 2003, each time as part of the Fox Run Invitational. This will be BGSU's first dual meet at UNH. Most recently, the Wildcats defeated Bowling Green 194.700-193.850 last February at Anderson Arena.

LAST TIME OUT
On Sunday (Feb. 11), the Falcons lost a 195.000-194.275 decision at Ball State. BGSU took the lead with a season-best 48.800 on bars during the first rotation and held the lead until the final event. On the beam, Bowling Green had to count two falls and posted a 47.975; it was the team's first sub-48 score on beam since their last trip to Muncie in 2016. Jovannah East won the vault competition outright (9.850) and shared the floor title (9.875). Laura Mitchell earned top-three finishes, as she tied her career-best on the bars (9.850) and posted a 9.800 on beam. Lexi Augustine's personal-record 9.850 earned a tie for second on the bars.

MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENT
With Bowling Green's victory over Eastern Michigan, head coach Kerrie Turner became 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 ranks in the top 30. The Falcons face three teams currently in the nation's top 20 (#6 Michigan, #10 Denver, #19 BYU). The Falcons compete against five other top-36 teams: Illinois, Ohio State, Kent State, Central Michigan, and New Hampshire. All but one of BGSU's opponents is currently in the top 50.

NO SUCH THING AS A SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Jovannah East, the 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year, has made a scintillating start to her sophomore season. Last Sunday at Ball State, she earned first place in two events and tied her season-best floor exercise score (9.875). East owns a MAC-best 9.867 vault average and is ranked second in the Central region and 17th nationally. Her floor exercise average (9.846) is second in the MAC, 13th in the region, and 57th out of 640 in the country. East has won the vault in all six meets, four times outright. She has nine wins in 2018 and 21 in her career. She has recorded a victory in 15 of 18 career meets and a 9.800 or above in 43 of 50 career events (.860). East has now tallied 30 top-three finishes (.600).

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 continues to provide solid, consistent contributions. At Ball State, she scored a 9.8 or above in all three of her events for the first time since the 2017 MAC Championships. She tied her career-best bars score with a 9.850 and earned a pair of top-three finishes, including a tie for second on the bars. Mitchell has competed in 17 events in 2018 and has scored 9.7 or above in all but one. She is seventh in the MAC with a 9.779 average and leads the team on bars (9.746).

McPeak tied for fourth on the balance beam last weekend at Ball State by earning a 9.775. She has scored 9.775 or above in each meet and currently ranks third in the MAC with a 9.804 beam average. McPeak leads the team and is tied for 13th in the Central Region. She's also added a pair of routines on the floor which received a 9.8.

Goniwiecha returned to action for the first time in nearly two years by performing on the uneven bars against Utah State. Her triumphant comeback was rewarded with a 9.675. She competed again against EMU and did even better, earning a 9.725 on the bars for a fourth-place finish. At Ball State, she posted a 9.500 on the vault and also did an exhibition routine on the bars that received a 9.700. She initially joined the vault lineup two weeks ago at Denver.

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. She began the season with a floor exercise score of 9.750 at Michigan State. Since a one-week hiatus, Rose scored a 9.675 at Western Michigan, improved to a 9.775 at Denver, and added a 9.750 at Ball State.. Rose was the 2017 MAC floor exercise co-champioin and served as an NCAA Regional alternate in the floor exercise.

AUGUST-INE IN JANUARY
Sophomore Lexi Augustine just keeps getting better, and that fact is reflected in her scores. After completing just four routines as a freshman, she has been a mainstay in the lineup on three events in 2018 and has set a new personal record in at least one event during each meet. At Ball State, Augustine boosted her personal record on bars for the second straight meet and third time in 2018. She earned a 9.850 and tied for second in that event. She also placed fourth in the floor exercise (9.825) and now has a 9.8+ in four of six meets on the floor. Through 18 events in 2018, seven of Augustine's routines have earned a 9.8 or above, while three others have earned at least a 9.7.

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Four members of BGSU's 2018 freshman class have been weekly contributors early in the season. Alex Fochler and Grace Logan have started on bars in each meet, as has Elena Lawson on vault. Nacaida Kearns has started in every meet and has completed three events in each of the last five. Fochler followed a win on bars at WMU with a new personal record (9.875) and top-three finish at Denver. The 9.875 is tied for sixth-best in BGSU history. Lawson also set a PR on bars (9.775), while Kearns set one on vault (9.750) at Denver.

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.

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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Jovannah East

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