Ball State University Athletics
Cardinals Exhibit Success at NCAA Regionals
April 03, 2016 | Gymnastics
IOWA CITY, Iowa— Six members of the Ball State gymnastics team traveled to Iowa City, Iowa for the NCAA regional competition Saturday evening in hopes of qualifying for National play.
Ball State competed with Mid-American Conference rivals, Kent State, Western Michigan and Central Michigan, as well as teams from the Big Ten and SEC (Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Iowa).
“I am really proud of these young ladies who competed tonight,” head coach Joanna Saleem said. “I couldn't have asked for better performances. We had nine out of nine routines hit and perform well under immense pressure.”
Denasiha Christian and Sarah Ebeyer competed on vault and floor. Jordyn Penny competed on bars and beam. Originally, in the alternate position, Kayla Beckler moved into the bar lineup for Ball State. Baylee Bell performed on beam while Erin Patchey stood on stand by as alternate on vault.
Christian scored a 9.775 on vault tying for fourteenth place. Ebeyer scored a 9.650 tying for twenty-seventh. Penny scored a 9.525 placing thirty-fifth.
On bars Jordyn Penny scored a 9.825 placing seventeenth. Kayla Beckler stood thirty-first with a score of 9.725.
Baylee Bell placed ninth with a score of 9.850 on beam after sticking her dismount. Penny followed with a 9.800 in seventeenth.
On floor the 2016 Mid-American Conference floor champion, Denasiha Christian placed third with a score of 9.850. Sarah Ebeyer closed the competition in twenty-seventh with a 9.700.
“It is such a different environment competing with teams in and out of our conference," Saleem said. "They represented Ball State and composed themselves with confidence throughout the entire night. Denasiha had a great floor routine, with the second highest score of the night tying for third. Jordyn, Baylee and Sarah showed strong performances on their individual events. All in all they closed the season out with a very rewarding outcome.”
For more news on Ball State gymnastics follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateGym, and @JoannaSaleem on Twitter.
