Ball State University
Kent State
Gymnasts Set School Record at Kent State
March 08, 2015 | Gymnastics
Ball State's gymnastics team suffered a 196.800 to 195.500 defeat at Kent State in its final Mid-American Conference regular-season meet of the season, but the team score set a school record.
The Cardinals' 195.500 mark broke the previous team score record of 195.475 set twice in 2001.
"We had another solid gymnastics meet today, despite the loss, we earned a 195.5 which is now the highest team score in the record books," Ball State head coach Joanna Saleem said. "It took everyone of our student-athletes to get to this point, and I know that we can do better. These young ladies are working hard on making their performances a flawless as possible. I told the team to use this competition as a practice meet for MAC Championships, since Kent State is hosting the championships in two weeks. I am really excited with the way this group went out on the floor and competed today. Kayla Beckler had a career high in the all-around. Denasiha Christian had a stellar floor performance. Jala Washington scored a career high 9.825 on vault which was the second highest score on that event. The vault, beam and floor squads all broke the 49 mark, that takes an entire team of solid performances. Our goal this season was to peak at the Championships, and we are on track to do just that."
The Cardinals, 3-8 overall and 2-4 in the MAC, will compete at Kentucky with Pittsburgh Friday before returning to Kent, Ohio, for the MAC Championships March 21.
BallState's top event was the vault where the Cardinals tallied a 49.000 team mark. The score is the second best mark in school history, behind only the 49.100 score for Ball State earlier this season.
Denasiha Christian tied for first on the vault with a 9.850 mark, while Jala Washington was third with a 9.825. Sara Ebeyer tied for fourth with a 9.800, while Erin Patchey tied for sixth with a 9.775.
Ball State recorded the fourth-best balance beam team total in school history with a 49.000 mark. Baylee Bell and Kayla Beckler tied for third with a pair of 9.825's and Jessica Leko tied for fifth with a 9.800 mark.
On the bars, Brooklyn Schumacher was the team's top finisher with a sixth-place showing and a score of 9.775.
Christian was Ball State's top finisher on the floor with a third-place showing with her score of 9.925.
Players Mentioned
