Thursday, April 4
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Ball State University
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NCAA Regionals
Successful Gymnastics Season Closes At NCAA Regional
April 11, 2019 | Gymnastics
Trio of Cards qualified for regional, team with higher sights moving forward
A gymnastics season that saw 10 dual-meet wins, a school record on vault, three gymnasts in the postseason and consistent scores better than 195 came to an end in Baton Rouge this weekend. Two freshmen scored 9.800 or better in vault at the NCAA Regional at LSU, and the Cardinals are now looking ahead to higher sights.
"Coming into the season, we knew we would be freshmen-heavy. When you look at what we did as a whole, we did really well," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "Better than the year before. Each year we want to improve. I think we are building a really solid foundation that we can sustain moving forward. The consistency and our quality of gymnastics is improving every year."
Marissa Nychyk, a freshman from Florida, closed her first season at Ball State with a 9.825 on vault, her third-highest mark of the year and good enough to place her in the top third of the regional vault field. Nychyk finished the year with a team-high 386.125 meet points and had 12 routines this year of 9.800 or better.
Another freshman, Stefanie Schweikert, landed 9.800 on vault at the regional. She owned the third-best national qualifying score in the MAC (9.840) and was second team all-conference.
"For Marissa and Stefanie to go out as freshmen and make it on vault and compete well was a great experience for them," Saleem said.
Kaitlyn Menzione made the regional field after a standout season on the floor. She scored 9.500 in Baton Rouge, and finished her Ball State career as one of the highest-scoring gymnasts in school history (13th with 1,174.0 points). Saleem said Menzione's self-management and commitment as a senior was as impressive as her performances on the floor.
"Her leadership as a senior was invaluable. She did what she needed to do," the head coach said. "Right now she's working an internship for as many as 40 hours per week and she's still training around that."Â
In all, four of BSU's top five scorers from this season are scheduled to return next year in addition to two NCAA regional qualifiers. Having a trio on the sport's biggest stage - including freshmen Nychyk and Schweikert - serves as a jumping off point toward next season.
"They made the NCAAs because they were solid and consistent, and when you have a young team getting exposure at big meets you'll see that jump. Our young team is now inspired and this year was another step on the path for where we're trying to go as a program.
"With every thing our team has been through this year, I'm really proud of what we've done."
"Coming into the season, we knew we would be freshmen-heavy. When you look at what we did as a whole, we did really well," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "Better than the year before. Each year we want to improve. I think we are building a really solid foundation that we can sustain moving forward. The consistency and our quality of gymnastics is improving every year."
Marissa Nychyk, a freshman from Florida, closed her first season at Ball State with a 9.825 on vault, her third-highest mark of the year and good enough to place her in the top third of the regional vault field. Nychyk finished the year with a team-high 386.125 meet points and had 12 routines this year of 9.800 or better.
Another freshman, Stefanie Schweikert, landed 9.800 on vault at the regional. She owned the third-best national qualifying score in the MAC (9.840) and was second team all-conference.
"For Marissa and Stefanie to go out as freshmen and make it on vault and compete well was a great experience for them," Saleem said.
Kaitlyn Menzione made the regional field after a standout season on the floor. She scored 9.500 in Baton Rouge, and finished her Ball State career as one of the highest-scoring gymnasts in school history (13th with 1,174.0 points). Saleem said Menzione's self-management and commitment as a senior was as impressive as her performances on the floor.
"Her leadership as a senior was invaluable. She did what she needed to do," the head coach said. "Right now she's working an internship for as many as 40 hours per week and she's still training around that."Â
In all, four of BSU's top five scorers from this season are scheduled to return next year in addition to two NCAA regional qualifiers. Having a trio on the sport's biggest stage - including freshmen Nychyk and Schweikert - serves as a jumping off point toward next season.
"They made the NCAAs because they were solid and consistent, and when you have a young team getting exposure at big meets you'll see that jump. Our young team is now inspired and this year was another step on the path for where we're trying to go as a program.
"With every thing our team has been through this year, I'm really proud of what we've done."
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