Sunday, January 23
Muncie, Ind.
1 p.m.
Ball State University
vs
Kent State
Gymnastics Welcomes Kent State for Home Opener Sunday
January 21, 2022 | Gymnastics
MUNCIE, Ind. - - After three meets on the road, the Ball State gymnastics team opens the home portion of the 2022 schedule Sunday, when it hosts Kent State in Mid-American Conference action at Worthen Arena.
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Admission to the meet, which will also serve as Dance Party night for the Cardinals, is FREE for all fans wishing to attend. Code Red will be in attendance to take part in the dance festivities, while there will also be a special pre-meet fan competition as well as between routine fan dance competitions.
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Not able to join the Cardinals in person, fans can WATCH LIVE ON ESPN3 or follow along with LIVE RESULTS.
"LIVE" FROM THE WLBC ZOOM ROOM:
IN THE RTN TEAM RANKINGS:
IN THE RTN EVENT RANKINGS:
GETTING BETTER EACH TIME OUT:
IN THE RECORD BOOKS:
HITTING THE EVENT MARK:
VOLPE SOLID ON BEAM
RUTHBERG MAKING MOVES ALL AROUND:
IN THE EVENT WIN COLUMN:
SCORING 9.800-OR-BETTER:Â
FRESHMAN IMPACT:Â
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Admission to the meet, which will also serve as Dance Party night for the Cardinals, is FREE for all fans wishing to attend. Code Red will be in attendance to take part in the dance festivities, while there will also be a special pre-meet fan competition as well as between routine fan dance competitions.
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Not able to join the Cardinals in person, fans can WATCH LIVE ON ESPN3 or follow along with LIVE RESULTS.
"LIVE" FROM THE WLBC ZOOM ROOM:
- In case you missed it, senior Stefanie Schweikert, sophomore Hannah Ruthberg, sophomore Victoria Henry, and freshman Grace Sumner were live in the WLBC Zoom Room with Steve Lindell on Thursday morning ... Below is the complete interview
IN THE RTN TEAM RANKINGS:
- Ball State enters the week ranked 27th nationally with a 194.733 average score over its first three meets of the season … The Cardinals season-high score of 195.675 set last Sunday at Western Michigan is 24th overall.
- Kent State enters the week ranked slightly ahead of the Cardinals coming in at 24th with a mark of 195.300 … The Golden Flashes have competed in just one meet so far this year, winning a home tri-meet with Northern Illinois and Southeast Missouri last Sunday.
IN THE RTN EVENT RANKINGS:
- The Cardinals enter the week ranked 29th on both bars (48.642 average) and floor (48.725), while holding 34th on beam (48.658) and 36th on vault (48.708) … While the Cardinals had a slow start on vault, they do own the 15th-best single meet score in the event with a 49.100 last Sunday at WMU
GETTING BETTER EACH TIME OUT:
- So far this season, Ball State has improved its overall team score each meet … BSU started with a 193.775 in the season-opener at then-No. 16 Missouri (Jan. 7), then followed with a 194.750 score last Friday at Excite Night hosted by Kentucky … Most recently, the Cardinals scored a 195.675 at Western Michigan last Sunday, which is the sixth-best team score in program history.
- Ball State has also steadily improved in each event, earning higher event scores seven of a possible eight times.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS:
- While Ball State's team score of 195.675 last Saturday at Western Michigan was the sixth-best score in program history, it's not the only time BSU has flirted with a program record under ninth-year head coach Joanna Saleem … In fact, the top 12 team scores in program history have come under Saleem's guidance, including a program record mark of 195.975 set at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 6, 2021 … The Cardinals set the then-program record three times in 2020.
- Ball State's first team record score under Saleem was a 195.500 at Kent State on March 8, 2015 … Overall, three of the top 12 team scores in program history have come in dual action versus Kent State, while another came at the 2016 MAC Championships which also featured the Golden Flashes.
HITTING THE EVENT MARK:
- Ball State's gymnasts also came close to the team vault record last Sunday at Western Michigan, with its score of 49.100 tying as the second-best mark in program history.
- Of the four event records, the Cardinals have broken three of them under Saleem's guidance … BSU tied the beam mark with a 49.125 at Bowling Green on March 18, 2015, topped the floor mark with a 49.500 versus Western Michigan on March 5, 2017, and shattered the vault record three times, most recently with a 49.175 versus Western Michigan on Feb. 3, 2019.
VOLPE SOLID ON BEAM
- Senior Lauren Volpe enters the weekend tied with the top beam score in the MAC this season with her career-best score of 9.875 set last Sunday at Western Michigan … Volpe has turned in three solid beam routines so far this season, starting with a 9.850 at No. 16 Missouri (Jan. 7) and adding a 9.775 at Kentucky (Jan. 14) … Her season average of 9.833 is fifth in the league, but she is the only one in the top five to have competed on beam in more than one meet.
RUTHBERG MAKING MOVES ALL AROUND:
- Sophomore Hannah Ruthberg is the only Ball State gymnast to compete in the all-around in all three meets so far this season … In her latest outing at Western Michigan (Jan. 16), she turned in a career-best performance of 39.275, which included career-high scores of 9.825 on vault and 9.850 on beam … She also scored 9.800s on bars and floor, hitting on every event … Prior to WMU, Ruthberg's highest score on an event this season was a 9.775 on floor at No. 16 Missouri (Jan. 7).
IN THE EVENT WIN COLUMN:
- The Cardinals have claimed two event victories so far this season, both coming at Western Michigan … Senior Lauren Volpe took top honors on beam with her MAC-leading score of 9.875, while sophomores Suki Pfister and Victoria Henry tied for first on vault with marks of 9.850.
SCORING 9.800-OR-BETTER:Â
- Ball State has chalked up 16 routines of 9.800-or-better so far this season, led by four each from sophomores Victoria Henry and Hannah Ruthberg … Of those 16 routines, eight have come on vault, including four of BSU's five countable scores last Sunday at Western Michigan … BSU has also hit the mark three times on bars, three times on beam and twice on floor so far this season.
- Overall, the Cardinals hit routines of 9.800-or-better 97 times last season … BSU's floor team led the way at 32 marks at the threshold, followed by bars (28), vault (21) and beam (16) … In addition, Ball State's gymnasts hit 10 routines of 9.900-or-better last season.
FRESHMAN IMPACT:Â
- Freshman Grace Sumner made a big impact so far in her debut season, landing three routines above 9.700 … Her first two came in the season-opener at No. 16 Missouri when she hit for a 9.775 on beam and a 9.725 on bars … She went on to tie her career-best bars score with a 9.725 at WMU … The Indianapolis native grew up watching the Cardinals and attending Ball State gymnastics camps in hopes of one day earning a spot in the lineup.
Players Mentioned
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