Cardinals Face NC State and William & Mary Friday

MUNCIE, Ind. - - After an exciting 194.175-193.575 win over Mid-American Conference rival Northern Illinois, the Ball State gymnastics team travels to Raleigh, N.C., to compete against the Wolfpack and new opponent William & Mary at 7 p.m. EST. in the Reynolds Coliseum.

"It is always fun to compete on the road against a highly ranked team," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "NC State has a great venue and normally has a good size crowd which makes it an exciting place to compete. We are looking to build on last weeks performance and to show the judges some solid gymnastics."

Last weekend against the Huskies the team scored a 48.750 on vault, 48.475 on bars, 48.025 on beam, and a 48.925 to finish on floor.

Sarah Ebeyer placed second on vault with a score of 9.800. While freshman, Bri Slonim matched her performance from the previous meet with a 9.775 landing her in third place.

On bars Jordyn Penny swung into second place with another impressive bar set of 9.825.

Kayla Beckler stood at the top of the podium on beam with a score of 9.800. Slonim took third with a score of 9.725. Jala Washington and Kaitlyn Menzione both stood fourth with scores of 9.700.

The Cardinals concluded the meet on floor where four Ball State athletes finished in the top three. Beckler took first place with a 9.850. Menzione claimed second place and a new career high of 9.800. While Ebeyer and Sydney Finke followed in third with scores of 9.775.

In the all-around competition, Kaitlyn Menzione took first place with a 38.950.

"I am looking forward to returning home to compete against No. 9 Kentucky in our Alumni meet on Sunday," Saleem said. "The Cardinal fans were awesome this past week, and the loud cheering and energy helped the team in our win against NIU. It would be great to have another great crowd cheering us on as we go head to head with Kentucky."

For fans unable to attend the tri-meet in North Carolina, follow the links to live results and video attached to this article.

The Cardinals return to host No. 9 Kentucky Sunday, Jan. 29 at 1 p.m. EST in Worthen Arena.

For more news on Ball State gymnastics, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateGym, and @CoachSaleem on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

Kayla Beckler

Sarah Ebeyer

Sydney Finke

Kaitlyn Menzione

Bri Slonim

Jala Washington