Sunday, February 24
Muncie, IN
1 p.m.
Ball State University
194.575
vs
194.250
Illinois State
Photo by: Michael Hickey
Cardinals Take Down Illinois State, Southeast Missouri in Tri-Meet
February 24, 2019 | Gymnastics
Kaitlyn Menzione’s 9.9 on floor puts exclamation point on victory
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State gymnastics team turned in steady performances across the board Sunday on the way to victory over Illinois State and Southeast Missouri inside Worthen Arena.
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The Cardinals, fresh off a season-best score of 195.025 two days earlier at Pittsburgh, backed it up with a 194.575 on Sunday. BSU topped Illinois State (194.250) for the top spot, while SEMO (186.900) finished third.
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"That double weekend is always an interesting thing, especially when you throw it in the middle of the season," Ball State head coach Joanna Saleem said. "I'm happy that we came home and had a solid performance."
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Ball State grabbed the lead early with a score of 48.950 on vault and never relinquished it. The Cardinals cemented their victory on the floor exercise in the final rotation, with Kaitlyn Menzione firing on all cylinders for a 9.900 to put an exclamation point on the day.
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Sydney Finke matched her season-best with a 9.825 on floor to help the Cardinals slam the door shut with a team score of 48.850. Ball State had three of the top 5 individual scores on floor and bars and four of the top 5 on vault and beam.Â
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Menzione was the meet champion on the floor with her second-best score of the year. Illinois State took the top spot in the other three events, but Ball State's depth proved too much.
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Freshman Stefanie Schweikert (9.825) led BSU on vault, while Jordyn Penny (9.800) on was the top Cardinal on bars. Arden Hudson and Rachel Benoit both turned in 9.800 routines on beam to help the team overcome a couple falls.
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"We had some really cohesive teamwork throughout the whole meet," Saleem said. "We had a little hiccup on beam, but they did a really nice job of pulling it back in. There were a lot of really strong things today, I feel."
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Ball State returns to action Sunday, March 3 for its final home meet of the season. The Cardinals will host Central Michigan at 1 p.m.
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The Cardinals, fresh off a season-best score of 195.025 two days earlier at Pittsburgh, backed it up with a 194.575 on Sunday. BSU topped Illinois State (194.250) for the top spot, while SEMO (186.900) finished third.
Â
"That double weekend is always an interesting thing, especially when you throw it in the middle of the season," Ball State head coach Joanna Saleem said. "I'm happy that we came home and had a solid performance."
Â
Ball State grabbed the lead early with a score of 48.950 on vault and never relinquished it. The Cardinals cemented their victory on the floor exercise in the final rotation, with Kaitlyn Menzione firing on all cylinders for a 9.900 to put an exclamation point on the day.
Â
Sydney Finke matched her season-best with a 9.825 on floor to help the Cardinals slam the door shut with a team score of 48.850. Ball State had three of the top 5 individual scores on floor and bars and four of the top 5 on vault and beam.Â
Â
Menzione was the meet champion on the floor with her second-best score of the year. Illinois State took the top spot in the other three events, but Ball State's depth proved too much.
Â
Freshman Stefanie Schweikert (9.825) led BSU on vault, while Jordyn Penny (9.800) on was the top Cardinal on bars. Arden Hudson and Rachel Benoit both turned in 9.800 routines on beam to help the team overcome a couple falls.
Â
"We had some really cohesive teamwork throughout the whole meet," Saleem said. "We had a little hiccup on beam, but they did a really nice job of pulling it back in. There were a lot of really strong things today, I feel."
Â
Ball State returns to action Sunday, March 3 for its final home meet of the season. The Cardinals will host Central Michigan at 1 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
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AA
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AA
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VT, UB,BB
/ Gymnastics
AA
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