Falcons Give RQS Another Boost on Friday at Kent State

Friday, March 9

Kent, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

195.400

196.625

Kent State

Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications

March 09, 2018 | Gymnastics

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communicationis Assistant

MEET RESULTS (.pdf)

KENT, Ohio – Laura Mitchell tied her own school record on the balance beam and led the Bowling Green State University gymnastics team to its third consecutive 195 on Friday night (March 9) in a dual meet at Kent State. The Falcons tied their second-best cumulative score of the season with a 195.400 and improved their Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) to 195.235. For the moment, that improvement vaulted BGSU up one spot to 39th in the national rankings. Kent State won the dual with a season-best 196.625. The Golden Flashes are now 6-7 overall and 3-3 in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons drop to 4-13 overall and 2-3 against MAC foes.

BGSU began the meet slowly, scoring 48.500 in the first rotation (uneven bars) and 48.625 in the second (vault). The highlight of the meet's first half was Jovannah East's vault, which recieved a 9.875 from the judges. That score earned a victory for East, her eighth vault win in 11 meets. In the second half, the Falcons recovered and once again showed their excellence on the balance beam and the floor. Four members of the floor exercise lineup earned 9.850 or above; East led the way with a 9.900, while Lexi Augustine, Laura Mitchell, and Kayla Rose all tallied 9.850. The result was a season-best 49.225 in that event. Bowling Green concluded the meet with 49.050 on the beam. The lineup's score was significantly aided by Mitchell's school-record-tying 9.950.

The Falcons' final regular season meet takes place at 2:00 p.m. next Saturday. The team will celebrate Senior Day and host the Northern Illinois Huskies at Anderson Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. In NIU's last visit to Anderson, Bowling Green had its best-ever meet. On Senior Day in 2016, they scored a school-record 196.500 against the Huskies; that propelled the 2016 team to a berth in the NCAA Regionals.

HEAD COACH KERRIE TURNER SAYS...

"Tonight was a solid effort by our team. I was especially happy to see some progress on several vaults, and we will continue to work to build on that. This score will help our RQS a bit as well. I look forward to returning home to Anderson Arena next weekend and celebrating our seniors."

FACTS AND FIGURES

Once again, BGSU extended their program-record streak of consecutive meets with 194+ after Friday's 195.400.
The Falcons have scored 194+ in all 11 meets during the 2018 season and in 13 straight overall.
Bowling Green remains the only MAC team to score 194 or better in every 2018 meet.
The team now has an average score of 194.914 and an RQS of 195.235.
BGSU earned two scores of 9.9+, seven scores of 9.8+ and 19 scores of 9.7+ out of 23 total routines.
The team's 19 scores of 9.7+ and percentage of routines with that score (.826) are both season highs.
Laura Mitchell tied her own school record by scoring 9.950 on the beam at Kent State; the score earned first place.
The event victory is her second of the season and 14th of her career. She has 43 career top-three finishes.
Mitchell has taken over the team lead with a 9.865 beam RQS.
Mitchell tied personal records in three events (vault, beam, floor), as well as the all-around (39.125).
The 9.900 on floor by Jovannah East tied her season best. It was her tenth career 9.9+ and seventh this season.
That mark improved her floor exercise RQS to 9.885. She also has a 9.880 RQS on vault and 9.855 on beam.
East won on vault (9.875) for the eighth time in 11 meets this season. She also tied for third on floor.
She has 15 wins and 26 top-threes in 2018. In her career, she owns 27 wins and 45 top-threes.
East has 9.8+ in 29 of 37 events in 2018 (.784) and 57 of 69 career events (.826).
Lexi Augustine tied her personal record with a 9.850 on the floor and improved her RQS in that event to 9.825.
Kayla Rose continues to rocket up the floor exercise rankings. With a 9.850, she has scored 9.825+ in four straight meets and now has an RQS of 9.815.
Shannon Goniwiecha posted a new season best vault score by earning 9.725.
Nacaida Kearns competed in three events for the tenth time in 11 meets. This week, she featured her best beam routine since her collegiate debut at Michigan State and was rewarded with a 9.800.
The Falcons' 49.225 on floor is their season-best score in that event and is tied for their season-best score in any event. They have scored 49+ on floor in seven of 11 meets, including four in a row.
BGSU also earned a 49.050 on beam for their second consecutive 49 on that apparatus.

PERSONAL RECORDS

Lexi Augustine
- 9.850 (floor, tied)
Laura Mitchell
- 9.575 (vault, tied)
- 9.950 (beam, tied)
- 9.850 (floor, tied)
- 39.125 (all-around, tied)

NON-PR/RECORD SEASON BESTS

Lauren DeMeno
- 9.725 (bars, tied)
Jovannah East
- 9.900 (floor, tied)
Shannon Goniwiecha
- 9.725 (vault)
Team - Floor
- 49.225

TEAM EVENT SCORES

	Bowling Green	Kent State
Vault	48.625	48.900
Bars	48.500	49.275
Beam	49.050	49.025
Floor	49.225	49.425
TOTAL	195.400	196.625

UP NEXT...

Next meet: Northern Illinois at Bowling Green
Date/time: Saturday, March 17 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Location: Bowling Green, Ohio (Anderson Arena)
Senior Day: BGSU will honor three seniors for their contributions to Falcon Gymnastics: Shannon Goniwiecha, India McPeak, and Laura Mitchell.
Entering this weekend, NIU was ranked 39th nationally with a 195.210 RQS, just one spot ahead of BGSU.
NIU competes in a quad meet on Sunday against Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, and Illinois State.
The Huskies are 7-9 overall and 3-2 against MAC opponents. They dropped their first two MAC contests to Kent State and Central Michigan but have since defeated Ball State, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan. NIU has posted 194 or above in their last eight meets and 195 or above in their last four. Their season-high total occurred last Sunday against WMU, when they scored 195.725.
BGSU owns a 13-10 record in the all-time series against Northern Illinois. The two schools first met in 1978, and the Falcons won in DeKalb. They split a pair of meets in 1985 and 1986 before not facing each other again until 1998. Bowling Green and NIU have competed against one another in each of the last 20 seasons.
In the Falcons' most recent win against NIU, they set a school record for team score with 196.500 on Senior Day in 2016. BGSU has won three of four meets against the Huskies held at Anderson Arena during the Kerrie Turner era.