Gymnastics Travels to EMU Friday; Hosts Beach Day Sunday

MUNCIE, Ind. - - It will be another busy weekend for the Ball State gymnastics program which has a pair of meets on the docket, starting Friday with a 6 p.m. quad-meet at Eastern Michigan.

The Cardinals will then return home for a Sunday tri-meet scheduled for 1 p.m. inside Worthen Arena.

In addition to the Cardinals (1-3; 0-2 Mid-American Conference) and host Eagles (2-1; 0-1 MAC), Western Michigan and Wisconsin-Oshkosh will be on hand for Friday's meet at the Gervin GameAbove Center.

Earlier this season, the Broncos (2-0; 2-0 MAC) handed the Ball State a 196.00-195.675 setback in Kalamazoo, meanwhile the Titans (3-0) enter the meet with an unblemished record.

HOW TO FOLLOW FRIDAY: ESPN3 Broadcast | Live Results

On Sunday, the Cardinals will host their second meet of the season, welcoming MAC foe Central Michigan and Illinois State to Worthen Arena for Beach Day.

It will be BSU's first meeting with the Chippewas (1-2, 1-1 MAC) this season, while BSU topped the Redbirds (1-4) by a score of 193.775-191.600.

HOW TO FOLLOW SUNDAY: Ball State All-Access Live Video | Live Results

"LIVE" FROM THE WLBC ZOOM ROOM:

In case you missed it, senior Lauren Volpe, junior Alivia Ostendorf, sophomore Suki Pfister and freshman Ari Gilley were live in the WLBC Zoom Room with Steve Lindell on Thursday monring ... Below is the compete interview.

IN THE RTN TEAM RANKINGS:

Ball State enters the weekend ranked 30th nationally with an average score of 194.750 over its first four meets of the season … The Cardinals set a season-high mark of 195.675 at Western Michigan on Jan. 15.
Eastern Michigan enters the weekend ranked 47th nationally with an average score of 193.858 … The Eagles scored a season-high mark of 194.100 in its season-opening meet at Iowa on Jan. 8.
Western Michigan enters the weekend ranked 18th nationally with an average score of 196.113 … The Broncos recorded a program record score of 196.225 in last Sunday's win over Bowling Green (Jan. 23).
Wisconsin-Oshkosh enters the weekend ranked 70th nationally with an average score of 186.763 … The Titans earned a season-best score of 187.875 last Thursday at Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Jan. 20).
Central Michigan enters the weekend ranked 49th nationally with an average score of 193.433 … The Chippewas produced a season-high score of 193.950 in a road dual at Bowling Green last Friday (Jan. 21).
Illinois State enters the weekend ranked 54th nationally with an average score of 192.292 … The Redbirds registered a season-best score of 192.650 in a home loss to Eastern Michigan last Friday (Jan. 21)

IN THE RTN EVENT RANKINGS:

The Cardinals enter the weekend ranked 31st on vault (48.788 average), 32nd on both bars (48.650) and beam (48.700) and 43rd on floor (48.613) … The Cardinals also own the nation's 21st-best meet vault score of 49.100 set at Western Michigan (Jan. 16).

LAST TIME IN YPSILANTI:

The last time the Ball State gymnastics team competed at Eastern Michigan, the Cardinals produced a program record team score of 195.975 on the way to sweeping a Feb. 6, 2021, quad-meet at the Gervin GameAbove Center.
Overall, the Cardinals won three of the four events at the meet, with Victoria Henry posting a 9.925 on vault, Grace Evans earning a 9.875 on bars and Megan Teter and Claudia Goyco tying for team-high honors with 9.900s on floor.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS:

Ball State's team score of 195.675 at Western Michigan (Jan. 16) 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 195.975 set at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 6, 2021.

HITTING THE EVENT MARK:

Ball State's gymnasts also came close to the team vault record at Western Michigan (Jan. 16), 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 at Western Michigan (Jan. 16) … Volpe has turned in four solid beam routines so far this season, starting with a 9.850 at No. 16 Missouri (Jan. 7), adding a 9.775 at Kentucky (Jan. 14), and most recently scoring 9.750 in a home dual with Kent State (Jan. 23).
Lauren Volpe's season average of 9.813 is tied for seventh in the league, but she is the only student-athlete in the top eight to have competed on beam in more than two meets.

RUTHBERG MAKING MOVES ALL AROUND:

Sophomore Hannah Ruthberg is the only Ball State gymnast to compete in the all-around in all four meets so far this season … Her best outing came at Western Michigan (Jan. 16) when she turned in a career-best performance of 39.275 … The effort 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).

PFISTER FIRST TO REACH 9.900 IN 2022:

Sophomore Suki Pfister became the first Ball State gymnast to register a 9.900-or-higher in 2022, landing for a 9.900 on vault last Sunday versus Kent State (Jan. 23) … The mark is tied as the best in the MAC so far this season, with two of the three marks coming inside Worthen Arena.
In addition to being the top mark for Ball State so far this season, Pfister's 9.900 vault is tied as the sixth-best vault in program history … Prior to Pfister, the last Ball State gymnast to land 9.900-or-better on vault was Victoria Henry with a 9.925 in the program record effort at Eastern Michigan Feb. 21, 2021.

OTHER TOP INDIVIDUAL MARKS THIS SEASON:

Sophomore Victoria Henry scored a 9.875 on vault in last Sunday's meet versus Kent State (Jan. 23), which ties as the 12th-best vault score in program history.
Senior Lauren Volpe's career-best beam score of 9.875 set at Western Michigan (Jan. 16) ties as the 11th-best score in program history.
Sophomore Hannah Ruthberg's career-best all-around score of 39.275 at Western Michigan (Jan. 16) ties as the fourth-best mark in program history.

IN THE EVENT WIN COLUMN:

The Cardinals have claimed five event victories so far this season … The first two came at Western Michigan (Jan. 16), as senior Lauren Volpe took top honors on beam with her MAC-leading score of 9.875 and sophomores Suki Pfister and Victoria Henry tied for first on vault with marks of 9.850 … In the home opener versus Kent State (Jan. 23), the Cardinals claimed three more wins, with Pfister tying for first vault (9.900), junior Megan Teter tying for the top spot on bars (9.825) and junior Taylor Waldo winning beam (9.850).

SCORING 9.800-OR-BETTER:

Ball State has chalked up 20 routines of 9.800-or-better so far this season, led by five from sophomore Victoria Henry and four from sophomore Hannah Ruthberg … Of those 20 routines, 10 have come on vault, including four of BSU's five countable scores at Western Michigan (Jan. 16) … BSU has also hit the mark four times on bars, four 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:

Freshman Grace Sumner made a big impact so far in her debut season, landing four routines above 9.700 … Her first two came in the season-opener at No. 16 Missouri (Jan. 7) 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 twice, with 9.725 marks at WMU (Jan. 16) and versus Kent State (Jan. 23) … 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

Ball State University Athletics

Gymnastics Travels to EMU Friday; Hosts Beach Day Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Grace Evans

Ari Gilley

Claudia Goyco

Victoria Henry

Alivia Ostendorf

Suki Pfister

Hannah Ruthberg

Grace Sumner

Megan Teter

Lauren Volpe

Taylor Waldo

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