Falcons Clash with Golden Flashes in Friday Night Dual

BOWLING GREEN FALCONS (4-12, 2-2 MAC) at KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES (5-7, 2-3 MAC)
Friday, March 9, 2018 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Kent, Ohio | M.A.C. Center

Game Notes: BGSU
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Road To Nationals

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The last road trip of the 2018 regular season takes the Bowling Green State University to Kent, Ohio on Friday (March 9) for a dual meet against Kent State University. The Falcons continued to claw their way towards an NCAA Regionals berth last weekend by scoring 195.325 in a tri-meet against Illinois and Lindenwood. As a result, BGSU improved their Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) to 195.120 (+0.115) and moved up one spot in the national rankings to 40th. Now, they will face the Golden Flashes, who are 36th and currently in position to be the final team in the 2018 NCAA Regionals field. The Falcons are the only team in the Mid-American Conference that has scored 194 or better in every meet this season and have posted 195+ in their last two outings. They seek to continue that momentum in an event critical to their postseason hopes.

HEAD COACH KERRIE TURNER SAYS...
"I am looking forward to the competition this Friday evening at Kent State. We have been working hard on small details and the overall look for routines all week. This has also been a chance for our team to get healthy after some illness last week. I am hopeful we will be able to field full line-ups on all four events Friday night. We are focused on continuing to increase our regional qualifying score as we move closer in the rankings to NCAA post-season qualification. We really need to score well at all of our remaining regular season competitions. "

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Kent State owns a 5-7 record and a 2-3 mark against MAC opponents. They recorded dual meet wins over Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, as well as losses against Ball State, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan. KSU also defeated Centenary in a dual meet. Most recently, in the Masters Classic quad against Iowa State, Nebraska, and UCLA, they finished fourth. The meet against BGSU will be Kent State's final dual of 2018.

The Golden Flashes rank 36th nationally with a 195.315 RQS and have primarily made their mark on bars (49.100 RQS) and floor (49.110) RQS. KSU is led by four-time MAC Gymnast of the Week Rachel Stypinski; she is the top ranked gymnast in the MAC in three of four events, as well as the all-around. Head coach Brice Biggin is in his 27th season at KSU. His teams have appeared in the NCAA Regionals 21 times.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Kent State leads the overall series against BGSU 47-13-1 and has won 24 of 25 meetings in Kent, Ohio. However, the trend against KSU is looking up for the Falcons, particularly in terms of their team scores. Bowling Green has scored a 195+ against Kent State four times, and three of those have occurred in the last four seasons. In 2015, the Falcons defeated the Golden Flashes for the first time since 2002 by scoring a 195.700. They also posted a 195.925 against KSU in 2014 and 195.350 in 2016. Last season, BGSU earned a 194.450 on Senior Day at Anderson Arena. The lone victory on the road for Bowling Green against KSU was in 2002, when their 195.125 outlasted the Flashes' 194.350.

LAST TIME OUT
Bowling Green posted 49s on two events, came within an eyelash of breaking the team record on the balance beam, and once again improved their RQS and Regionals position last weekend when they competed in a tri-meet at the University of Illinois against the Fighting Illini and Lindenwood University. All five counted scores on the beam for BGSU were 9.775 or higher, leading to a team total of 49.225. That fell just 0.025 shy of the school record (49.250). Jovannah East set a personal record with a 9.925, while Laura Mitchell and India McPeak added 9.85s. On vault, BGSU earned a 49.075, led by a PR from Nacaida Kearns (9.850). East earned a 9.875, while Kayla Rose added a 9.825. Leslie Delgado tallied a PR (9.800) on bars, and the Falcons finished the meet in third place with a 195.325.

THE POST-SEASON APPROACHES
Regional Qualifying Scores (RQS) were be released for the first time in 2018 on Monday, Feb. 26. Those scores are used to determine the teams and individuals that advance to the six NCAA regional meets. The top 36 teams by RQS qualify for the reginoals. Among individuals who are not on qualifying teams, the top four all-around gymnasts and the top two athletes from all four events are selected from each of the six regions.

BGSU's team RQS (195.120) is squarely on the bubble for entry to the NCAA Regionals. The Falcons are currently ranked 40th nationally and are 0.195 behind Kent State, who sits in the 36th and final spot for Regionals qualification. In addition, several individuals are in position to earn at-large Regional berths, if necessary. Jovannah East would currently qualify in vault (9.875), beam (9.855), and floor (9.880). Lauren DeMeno (9.805, vault) and Laura Mitchell (9.835, beam) would also qualify. India McPeak is currently in first-alternate position on beam (9.825). In addition, Lexi Augustine has a 9.805 RQS on bars and 9.815 on floor, both of which place her firmly in contention.

RQS is determined by taking the top six scores (at least three of which must be from "away" meets). The best score is eliminated, and the next five scores are averaged.

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 five teams currently in the nation's top 25 (#7 Michigan, #15 Denver, #21 BYU, #23 Ohio State, #25 Illinois). The Falcons compete against three other top-36 teams: CMU, Kent State, and New Hampshire. All of BGSU's opponents are currently in the top 50.

NO SUCH THING AS A SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Jovannah East established another personal record last weekend at Illinois by earning a 9.925 on the balance beam. She has now achieved a 9.925 at least once in three of her four events. In addition to her second-place finish on beam, she secured third on floor (9.875) and all-around (38.775). The 9.925 by East was her seventh 9.9 or better in 2018 and the ninth in her career.

In just two seasons, East has moved into BGSU's active lead for most career top-threes with 43. Of those, 24 have occurred this season, including 14 wins. She has earned 9.800 or above in 27 of 34 events (.794) in 2018 and 55 of 66 (.833) in her career. Her RQS scores are in the top 100 nationally in three events: vault (25th), floor (41st), and beam (57th).

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.

One week after breaking the school's individual balance beam record, Mitchell recorded a 9.850 to help Falcons earn the second-best team score in school history on beam (49.225). She has five straight 9.8+ scores on beam and seven in ten meets in 2018. She also tied for the team's best score on bars (9.800) at Illinois and added a 9.775 on floor. Mitchell's 9.835 beam RQS is 17th in the Central Region and in the top 100 nationally.

McPeak also helped the Falcons sensational beam lineup last week at Illinois with a 9.850 of her own. She has been a consistent perform on the beam throughout 2018, scoring 9.775 or better in nine of ten meets and reaching 9.850 three times. She also helped the team score with a 9.750 on floor, which was her best effort in that event since Jan. 28. McPeak owns a 9.825 beam RQS; like Mitchell, that ranks in the top 20 in the region and top 100 nationally.

Goniwiecha returned to action for the first time in nearly two years by performing on the uneven bars against Utah State. Since then, she has performed in every meet on vault or bars. Last week, she competed in both events and had her most productive outing, scoring 9.650 on vault and 9.675 on bars.

OUR ROSE HAS NO THORNS
BGSU junior Kayla Rose's is showing that she is fully propared for postseason action. Her three best floor exercise scores of the season have been registered in the last three meets, starting with a 9.875 at Elevate The Stage. Last Sunday, she added a second straight 9.825 and helped the Falcons achieve their sixth 49 of the season on the floor. She has improved her RQS to 9.795, which ranks third on the team in her event. She has earned at least 9.750 on the floor in 18 of her last 19 meets, with 13 of those scores reaching 9.8 or better.

IT FEELS LIKE AUGUST-INE IN WINTER
Lexi Augustine has become invaluable to the Falcons in her sophomore season. She has completed three events in all but one meet and currently leads BGSU with a 9.805 RQS on bars. She is also second on the team with a 9.815 floor RQS. Last Sunday, she was held to just one event but made that performance count with another excellent beam routine. Her 9.825 aided BGSU's impressive team score (49.225) and was her eighth 9.8+ in her last 13 events. She has earned 9.75+ in 19 of 28 events in 2018, including 11 of her last 13.

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Four members of BGSU's 2018 freshman class have been weekly contributors early in the season. Nacaida Kearns has spent much of the season as the lead-off for the Falcons on vault, beam, and floor. She has earned a 9.750 or above in at least one event eight times in ten meets. Most recently, she set a new personal record in the floor exercise with a 9.850 at Illinois, one week after tying her old PR (9.825) against CMU and Ohio State. Elena Lawson (vault) and Grace Logan (bars) have also been lineup fixtures; Logan has started on bars in nine of ten meet, while Lawson started on vault in the first seven before suffering an injury. Alex Fochler is a bars specialist. She returned from a hand injury at Illinois to record a 9.750; she has scored that or better in four of her seven meets, including a 9.875 at Denver.

THINGS LEFT TO ACHIEVE
With two dual meets remaining, both against MAC opponents, the Falcons still have an opportunity to put a winning cap on their regular season. The team is currently 2-2 in the MAC and still has a chance at a share of the regular season conference championship. BGSU would earn that achievement with wins in their final two duals and help in the form of a Ball State win against Central Michigan. Those two wins would also equal the Falcons' best MAC record (4-2) in the Kerrie Turner era and give the team its best single-season dual meet record (5-3) since 2010.

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

Leslie Delgado

Lauren DeMeno

Jovannah East

Lauren Feely

Shannon Goniwiecha

Nacaida Kearns

Elena Lawson

Grace Logan

India McPeak

Laura Mitchell

Kayla Rose

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