Jovannah East Competes at NCAA Gymnastics Championships on Friday

2018 NCAA WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS -- NATIONAL SEMIFINAL #1
Friday, April 20 2018 | 1:00 p.m. ET | St. Louis, Mo. | Chaifetz Arena

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television: ESPN2
Web Streaming: ESPN3 (All-Around, Vault, Bars, Beam, Floor)

LINKS
BGSU Game Notes
Live Stats
Road To Nationals
NCAA Gymnastics Championship Website
Championships Host Website
Tickets

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- For the first time in 19 seasons, a Bowling Green State University gymnast will compete at the NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championships. Sophomore sensation Jovannah East tied for fourth in the all-around at the NCAA Regional in Columbus, Ohio and won a tiebreaker to advance. As a result of her 39.250, she will be the first Falcon gymnast to compete in the all-around on the national meet. East is the second BGSU athlete to reach this stage; Marny Oestreng reached nationals in 1999 after winning the floor exercise event at her regional meet. She then scored a 9.925 on the floor to win the national championship. East is scheduled to participate in the first six-team semifinal at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, April 20 and will rotate with Nebraska. The meet will be held in St. Louis, Mo. at Chaifetz Arena.

HEAD COACH KERRIE TURNER SAYS...
"Jo deserves all the credit for getting out on that competition floor and shining for our program. She competes so well and is mentally tough, and I really can't wait to see her compete on the national stage. After winning MAC Freshman of the Year last season, she came into this year even more prepared for the demands of college gymnastics, and that has come through in her scores. We are honored as a program to represent BGSU and the MAC at the National Champships and are excited to see what Friday will bring."

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The NCAA Gymnastics Championships will be broadcast live nationally on the ESPN family of networks. The first semifinal, in which East is competing, will be shown on ESPN2 beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. local) on Friday, April 20, while the second semifinal will be broadcast on ESPNU. The "Super Six" team championship event takes place on Saturday, April 21 on ESPNU. Live web streams of each event will also be available on ESPN3; links to each stream are provided at the top of this page. Live results are available via NCAA.com. Fans can also follow BGSU Athletics for updates throughout the meet by following @falcongymn on Twitter and @bgfalcons on Instagram.

COMPETING TEAMS AND INDIVIDUALS (SEMIFINAL #1)
Teams

2. Louisiana State
3. UCLA
6. Alabama
10. Arkansas
11. Nebraska
18. Georgia

Individuals

All-Around: Jovannah East (Bowling Green)
All-Around: Cairo Leonard-Baker (Arizona State)
All-Around: Drew Watson (Auburn)
All-Around: Brianna Brown (Michigan)
All-Around: Lauren Bridgens (Penn State)
All-Around: Lynnzee Brown (Denver)
Vault: Jamie Stone (Ohio State)
Bars: Samantha Ciero (Auburn)
Beam: Abby Milliet (Auburn)

ROTATION ORDER (SEMIFINAL #1)

Rotation Order	Vault	Bye #1	Bars	Beam	Bye #2	Floor
I	UCLA	Nebraska	Alabama	LSU	Arkansas	Georgia
II	Georgia	UCLA	Nebraska	Alabama	LSU	Arkansas
III	Arkansas	Georgia	UCLA	Nebraska	Alabama	LSU
IV	LSU	Arkansas	Georgia	UCLA	Nebraska	Alabama
V	Alabama	LSU	Arkansas	Georgia	UCLA	Nebraska
VI	Nebraska	Alabama	LSU	Arkansas	Georgia	UCLA

Individual competitors are assigned to rotate with teams as follows:
UCLA -- Cairo Leonard-Jovannah Easta State; AA) and Samantha Ciero (Auburn; UB)
Nebraska -- Jovannah East (Bowling Green; AA) and Abby Milliet (Auburn; BB)
Alabama -- Drew Watson (Auburn; AA)
Louisiana State -- Brianna Brown (Auburn; AA)
Arkansas -- Lauren Bridgens (Penn State; AA) and Jamie Stone (Ohio State; VT)
Georgia -- LynJovannah Eastenver)

REIGNING AT REGIONALS
Jovannah East put together the finest all-around performance ever by a BGSU gymnast at a regional event when she scored 39.250 in Columbus on April 7. The previous best was a 39.150 from Alyssa Nocella in 2014. East also had the best finish by place during Kerrie Turner's tenure as head coach, tying for fourth place with Sandra Collantes of Boise State. She posted a high score of 9.850 twice, tying for eighth place on beam and 11th place on floor. She also tied for 15th on vault with a 9.825 and earned a 9.725 on the bars. East won the tiebreaker with Collantes to advance to the national championships via highest individual event scores. Both East and Collantes' top score was 9.850; however, East had a second 9.850, while Collantes' second-bJovannah East25.

SHINING STARS
Aside from Jovannah East, three other BGSU gymnasts competed at the NCAA Regional in Columbus and concluded their 2018 seasons in emphatic fashion. Senior Laura Mitchell ended her Falcon career by nailing a double-turn, and that resulted in a 9.800, her best score in two career regional appearances. Fellow senior India McPeak pulled off a daring standing back tuck full, which drew a loud cheer from the St. John Arena crowd. Her routine was awarded a 9.700. Junior Lauren De Meno stuck her vault landing to secure a 9.700, which ranks as an improvement from hJovannah East016.

ALL-AROUND, BGSU'S BEST
Jovannah East began her BGSU career by winning MAC Freshman of the Year and scoring 9.800 in two separate events at the 2017 NCAA Regionals. As a sophomore, she has raised the bar even higher. Midway through the 2018 season, she added the uneven bars to her repertoire, allowing her to compete as an all-arounder. She scored 39.300 or better four times, including a high of 39.425 against NIU. With a 39.180 RQS, East qualified for regionals as an all-around competitor. Had she not done that, her RQS on vault (9.885), beam (9.875), and floor (9.890) would have earned regional spots in all Jovannah East

OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Jovannah East has accumulated many notable achievements in her 2018 season...

MAC Gymnast of the Week (2x); First Team All-MAC (2nd Consecutive Year)
MAC Vault Co-Champion
19 event victories and 33 top-three finishes (out of 56 possible)
10 wins on vault in 14 meets, including six outright wins versus MAC teams
Out of 49 events: 9.7+ 44 times, 9.8+ 38 times, 9.85+ 29 times, 9.9+ nine times
Tied for second in BGSU history on vault, beam (9.925); tied for sixth on floor (9.925)
Vault RQS led the MAC and ranks 28th in the country
Vault, beam, and floor RQS all ranked in the Central Region's top ten

JOVANNAH'S CAREER EVENT SCORING BREAKDOWN

Score	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
9.925	1		1	2	4
9.900	3		1	3	7
9.875	7		4	5	16
9.850	10		5	4	19
9.825	1	1	5	3	10
9.800	3		5	3	11
9.775	1				1
9.750	1	1	3		5
9.725		1			1
9.700		1			1
9.600		1			1
9.575		1			1
9.500			1		1
9.325			2		2
9.225		1			1

#MACTION ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
Jovannah East is the first MAC gymnast to compete in the all-around at nationals since 2014. Here is a list of individual MAC competitors at the national championships from 2008-2017:

2017

Denelle Pedrick (CMU) -- VT, 9.8375 (29th)
Katy Clements (CMU) -- BB, 9.8625 (33rd)

2016

Rachel Slocum (EMU) -- FX, 9.8000 (T-47th)

2014

Marie Case (KSU) -- VT, 9.800 (T-56th); UB, 9.775 (T-60th); BB, 9.800 (T-40th); FX 9.825 (T-61st); AA, 39.200 (13th)
Halle Moraw (CMU) -- BB, 9.850 (T-23rd)
Taylor Noonan (CMU) -- BB, 9.725 (T-68th)
Emily Heinz (CMU) -- BB, 9.575 (T-79th)

2011

Kent State (6th in Semifinal #1, 195.000)
All-Around: Christina Lenny (10th, 39.125) and Marie Case (13th, 39.025)
Vault: Christina Lenny (T-21st, 9.825), Marie Case (T-24th, 9.800), Nikki Moore (T-24th, 9.800), Rachel Guida (T-24th, 9.800), Lauren Wozniak (T-33rd, 9.775), and Rachel Goldenberg (42nd, 9.175)
Bars: Christina Lenny (T-24th, 9.800), Lindsay Runyan (T-30th, 9.750), Marie Case (T-30th, 9.750), Christine Abou-Mitri (T-34th, 9.725), Jaimee Caldwell (T-34th, 9.725), and Rachel Guida (T-34th, 9.725)
Beam: Brianna Skiffington (T-25th, 9.675), Marie Case (T-25th, 9.675), Christina Lenny (T-28th, 9.650), Christine Abou-Mitri (T-28th, 9.650), Lindsay Runyan (T-28th, 9.650), and Nikki Moore (T-38th, 9.500)
Floor: Christina Lenny (T-9th, 9.850), Christine Abou-Mitri (T-9th, 9.850), Marie Case (T-25th, 9.800), Lauren Wozniak (T-36th, 9.725), Rachel Goldenberg (T-36th, 9.725), and Nikki Moore (T-38th, 9.650)

2009

Christina Lenny (KSU) -- VT, 9.150 (41st); UB, 9.775 (T-29th); BB, 9.725 (30th); FX, 9.750 (T-34th); AA, 38.400 (T-24th)

MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP
BGSU secured a top-three finish at the Mid-American Conference Championships for the fourth time in five years and featured an individual champion for the sixth consecutive year at the 2018 MACs. The Falcons completed the meet with aJovannah East95.850 and placed third, just 0.025 behind Northern Illinois. Jovannah East (9.850) won a co-championship on the vault, splitting the title with three others. She also placed in the top ten on the beam (9.875, T-9th)and floor (9.875, T-3rd). That earned her an all-around total of 39.300, which tied for second out of 11. Laura Mitchell and India McPeak led Bowling Green to a school-record total 49.300 on the balance beam by each scoring 9.925, which earned the pair a tie for second place. NCAA Regional qualifier Lauren DeMeno and freshman Alex Fochler also earned top-ten scores on vault and bars, respectively. .

A SEASON TO REMEMBER
BGSU's 2018 season was one of the best in school history. Here are some campaign highlights:

Scored 194+ in every meet for first time in school history. In addition to all 13 in 2018, the Falcons scored 194+ in their final three of 2017 for a current record streak of 16.
Set program records for season average (195.106) and RQS (195.495).
Established school records on beam for team (49.300) and individual (9.950).
Earned two of nine best team scores in school history: 196.475 (vs. NIU, 0.025 shy of school record) and 195.850 (at 2018 MACs).
Posted event scores of 49+ 12 times and 48.750+ 32 times.
Tallied individual scores of 9.9+ 15 times, scored 9.875 an additional 17 times, and earned 9.850 a total of 22 times.
Handed CMU its only conference defeat of the season on Feb. 25 by outscoring the Chippewas 195.400-195.375.
Won meets against Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinoins, Utah State, and Michigan State.
Competed against eight teams that qualified for the 36-team NCAA Regionals field.
Featured five separate gymnasts who ranked in the top ten of the MAC in at least one event.
Led the MAC with 49.130 RQS on beam and ranked third on vault, second on floor, and third overall.

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