Muncie Reporter

10 Straight; Gymnastics Tops Kent State

The Ball State gymnastics program used strong performances on floor and vault to earn a hard-fought 196.125-195.725 victory over Kent State Sunday afternoon in a Mid-American Conference dual at the M.A.C. Center.

 

"We battled hard today," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "It took every person on this team to get this win, and that comes from trusting each other and not making a big deal of out of any of the little errors."

 

It was the 10th straight head-to-head victory for the Cardinals (12-4; 3-0 MAC) who finished the day with the fourth-best team score in program history.

 

"We continue to talk about our intentions for each practice; for each competition," Saleem added. "Individually, they have to have something they are focusing on and something they are trying to improve. It's those little details we continue to talk about, and work on, that are driving us forward each time out."

 

Individually, junior Suki Pfister turned in Ball State's best score of the day, registering a 9.900 to win the vault competition. Despite the loss, the Golden Flashes (5-6; 2-2 MAC), had the highest scorers on the other three events and in the all-around.

 

Despite not winning the all-around competition, juniors Hannah Ruthberg and Victoria Henry turned in a pair of brilliant performances. Ruthberg tied the 10th-best score in program history at 39.250, while Henry tied the 15th-best at 39.200.

 

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:

Rotation 1 – Bars (48.925)

- Senior Megan Teter led the way for the Cardinals on bars, placing second overall with a 9.800

- Hannah Ruthberg was not far behind, taking third at 9.800

- The Cardinals also counted 9.775s from senior Grace Evans and freshman Zoe Middleton, along with a 9.750 from Victoria Henry

 

Rotation 2 – Vault (49.100)

- Ball State's score of 49.100 tied as the sixth-best team vault score in program history

- Suki Pfister posted her fourth score of 9.900-or-higher this season, winning the vault competition with a 9.900

- Victoria Henry was a close second, tying her season-best score with a 9.875

- The Cardinals also counted a 9.825 from junior Hannah Ruthberg, a 9.775 from Zoe Middleton, and a 9.725 from freshman Leah White

 

Rotation 3 – Floor (49.225)

- Ball State's score of 49.225 tied as the 10th-best team vault score in program history

- Suki Pfister and Megan Teter both turned in beautiful routines, tying for the team lead and third overall with 9.875s

- The Cardinals also counted a 9.850 from Victoria Henry, a 9.825 from Zoe Middleton, and a 9.800 from Hannah Ruthberg

 

Rotation 4 – Beam (48.875)

- Senior Lauren Volpe and Hannah Ruthberg tied for the top spot on the squad with scores of 9.825

- Senior Taylor Waldo closed the competition with a mark of 9.800

- Ball State also counted a 9.725 from Victoria Henry and a 9.700 from Grace Evans

 

 All-Around:

- Hannah Ruthberg placed second overall in the all-around at 39.250, with all four of her routines scoring at least a 9.800 … She counted 9.825s on vault and beam, as well as 9.800s on bars and floor

- Victoria Henry was not far behind, scoring 39.200 … She earned a 9.875 on vault, a 9.850 on floor, a 9.750 on bars, and a 9.725 on beam

 

More From Saleem:

- We came in here wanting to be a little sharper; a little crisper on some of the lines and some of the detail work we didn't have last week. I think we did that. We were also able to make a mistake or two on an event and say hey, it's okay, we are moving on and not bringing that with us from one place to another.

Next Time Out:

The Ball State gymnastics team returns to Worthen Arena next Sunday, when it hosts Central Michigan for Alumni Day starting at 1 p.m.

Original source can be found here.