Falcons Attempt to Resume Winning Ways on Sunday at Ball State

BOWLING GREEN (3-4, 1-1 MAC) at BALL STATE (8-4, 1-0 MAC)
Sunday, February 11, 2018 | 1:00 p.m. ET | Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
Game Notes: BGSU
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team returns to the conference dual meet portion of their schedule this week when they face Ball State University on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 11). The Falcons and Cardinals are scheduled to compete at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind. beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST. BGSU is currently 3-4 overall, while the Cardinals are 8-4. In duals, the Falcons are 3-1 overall, 1-1 on the road and 1-1 in the MAC. BSU's lone dual meet was a home MAC victory against Kent State. In terms of average team scores, Bowling Green is 35th nationally and third in the MAC (194.775), while Ball State has risen to 41st nationally and fourth in the MAC (194.410).

HEAD COACH KERRIE TURNER SAYS...
"After last week's performance, the team has been working very hard at getting ready to have a clean meet this weekend at Ball State. We're focused on our own gymnastics and trying to make improvements. Specifically, we've been preparing some of the smaller details, such as the landings. We're also trying to make sure that we learn from the scores we're getting and trying to improve those. We may see Shannon Goniwiecha go in with an upgraded vault, and that would be an opportunity for her to help our vault team. We are definitely excited to get back out there and compete in the MAC again."

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Ball State is competing in just their second dual of the season. They have finished second in three quad meets and a tri-meet, including a quad last weekend at Denver that also featured BGSU. The Cardinals have posted strong team scores in their last three meets, most recently scoring 195.600 in a home dual victory over Ball State and a 195.450 in the Denver quad meet. Kaitlyn Menzione is ranked in the top ten in the MAC on vault, floor exercise, and all-around averages. At Denver, she finished in the top ten on three events and scored a 39.225 in the all-around. In addition, Arden Hudson tied for fourth (9.850) on vault at Denver, while Maddie MacDonald (9.875) tied for third on bars. MacDonald is also in the MAC's top ten for vault. Cardinals' head coach Joanna Saleem is in her fifth season.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The series between Bowling Green and Ball State dates back to the Falcons' inaugural season of 1975. The Falcons' first-ever meet was in Muncie, and they defeated the Cardinals in their debut. BGSU is now 26-16 all-time against BSU and have won five of the last seven meetings. During the Kerrie Turner era, the Falcons are 6-4 against the Cardinals, but the team is looking for its first win in Muncie since 2014.

LAST TIME OUT
BGSU competed in Denver, Colo. last Saturday night (Feb. 3) against Denver, Brigham Young, and Ball State. The Pioneers and Cougars were each ranked in the nation's top 20 heading into the meet. The Falcons began the meet with the floor exercise and had to count a fall, which ultimately led to a team score of 194.525 and a fourth-place finish. However, the team recovered nicely to tie their season-best team scores on vault (48.950) and bars (48.725), as well as their second-best on beam (48.750). Individually, Jovannah East shared the vault title with a personal record 9.925. She added a 9.850 on the beam and 9.800 on the floor. Freshman Alex Fochler also earned a top three finish with a PR of 9.875 on the uneven bars.

Bowling Green @FalconGymn's Jovannah East on how her mother has always encouraged her to follow her dreams.#MACtion #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/GKktvXiLHc
— #MACtion (@MACSports) February 7, 2018

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 difficulty ranks in the top 30. BGSU faces three teams currently ranked in the top 20 nationally (#7 Michigan, #12 Denver, #19 Central Michigan). The Falcons compete against four other teams in the top 36: Illinois, Ohio State, Kent State, and BYU. None of BGSU's 2018 opponents are currently outside 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. In Denver, she shared the vault title with a 9.925, which is a personal record and tied for the second-best score in school history. She also earned a season-best 9.850 on the beam and a 9.800 on the floor. East has won on the vault in all five meets, three times outright, and has seven wins in 2018 and 19 in her career. With a 9.870 vault average, she ranks second in the MAC, third in the region, and 16th nationally. Her 9.840 floor average places her third in the MAC and 16th in the region. East has recorded a victory in 14 of her 18 career meets and has earned a 9.800 or above in 41 of her 47 career events (.872). She has posted 9.800 or above in multiple events during 15 of her 18 career meets, and tallied 28 top-three finishes (.596).

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 Denver, she competed in three events and scored above a 9.7 in each. In total, she has competed in 14 events in 2018 and has scored 9.7 or above in all but one. She is tied for sixth in the MAC with a 9.775 average on the balance beam. Mitchell is second on the team in floor exercise scoring average and leads the team (9.725) on the uneven bars.

McPeak completed a pair of strong routines during the Falcons' trip to WMU two weeks ago. She shared the balance beam title with a 9.825, while she was awarded a 9.800 for her floor exercise set. On the balance beam, McPeak has scored 9.775 or above in each meet. She currently ranks third in the MAC and tied for 15th in the Central Region with a 9.810 beam average. 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 Denver, she joined the vault lineup and scored a 9.575; she will compete on the vault again at Ball State.

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 and improved to a 9.775 at Denver. 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 Denver, Augustine finished in the top ten on bars with a 9.825, which set a new personal record and was the team's second-best score on the bars this season. Her 9.850 on the floor two weeks ago at WMU is also the team's second-best mark of the season. Through 15 events so far in 2018, five 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 four. 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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Lexi Augustine

Jovannah East

Lauren Feely

Shannon Goniwiecha

Nacaida Kearns

Elena Lawson

Grace Logan

India McPeak

Laura Mitchell

Kayla Rose

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