Record Beam Effort Helps Gymnastics Earn Pair of Sunday Wins

MUNCIE, Ind. - - Led by a program record effort on beam, the Ball State gymnastics team earned wins over Central Michigan and Illinois State in a "Beach Day" tri-meet Sunday afternoon inside Worthen Arena.

The Cardinals (4-5-1) counted five scores of 9.775-or-higher on beam for a program record team event score of 49.150, topping the previous mark of 49.125 originally set at the 2000 MAC Championships and later tied in a 2015 dual at Bowling Green.

In addition, Ball State tied the second-best vault mark in program history at 49.150 and added a season-best floor score of 49.000 to finish the meet with the second-best team score in program history at 195.850.

On the individual side of things, freshman Grace Sumner lead the effort on beam with a career-best mark of 9.900. It ties as the second-best beam routine in program history, trailing only the 9.925 set by Arden Hudson last season at Bowling Green.

Sophomore Suki Pfister also continued to impress on vault, with Ball State's best individual score so far this season at 9.925. The career-best score also tops her mark of 9.900 set last Sunday versus Kent State.

Pfister's 9.925 on vault and Sumner's 9.900 on beam would win each respective event, while junior Megan Teter took top honors on bars with her 9.800 routine. Overall, the Cardinals counted 12 scores of 9.800-or-better in Sunday's competition.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Rotation 1- Vault
- All six Cardinals in the lineup landed scores of at least 9.775 to help the Cardinals finish the event with a program record team score of 49.150.
- Suki Pfister continued to lead the squad with her career-best and event-winning score of 9.925. It is currently the best score in the MAC on vault this season.
- Seniors Sandra Elsadek and Stefanie Schweikert each landed vaults of 9.825, with Elsadek's tying her career-best set earlier this season at WMU.
- BSU also received 9.800 from sophomore Victoria Henry, as well as scores of 9.775 from junior Alivia Ostendorf and sophomore Hannah Ruthberg

Rotation 2 – Bars
- Junior Megan Teter was the meet's top performer on bars, earning a 9.800.
- The Cardinals also counted three scores of 9.700-or-higher by junior Grace Evans (9.725) senior Marissa Nychyk (9.725) and sophomore Kelly Sulek (9.700).

Rotation 3 – Beam
- It was a record-breaking performance on beam for the Cardinals, starting with a career-best effort of 9.800 from junior Alivia Ostendorf.
- Senior Sandra Elsadek followed by tying her career-best mark with a 9.775.
- Sophomore Hannah Ruthberg fell just shy of her career best, landing a 9.825
- Fourth in the lineup was BSU's biggest beam routine of the season to date, as freshman Grace Sumner landed a career-best 9.900 which ties as the second-best score in program history.
- Senior Lauren Volpe rounded out BSU's scorers with a 9.850, tying her second-best score of the season. All eight of Volpe's beam routines this season have been for at least 9.750.

Rotation 4 – Floor
- Ball State ended the meet with its best floor score of the season, counting five marks of 9.725-or-higher for a 49.000.
- Freshman Erica Cooper upped her career best effort in just her second appearance in the lineup, leading the squad with a score of 9.850.
- Senior Sandra Elsadek and junior Taylor Waldo were right behind, earning season-best scored of 9.825.

Head Coach Joanna Saleem:
"We did a nice job today. We were excited about their focus and commitment to finishing each routine and getting through the entire competition."

"They all stepped up their game on vault today. It's great that Suki is such a strong vaulter, but we really need the rest of the group to step up and perform like they did today. They were focused a little bit more on their landings. That was a great way to start the meet."

"We did really well on beam, obviously breaking the program record, but I think there is still more there in the performance that we can do. It was fun to watch Grace go over and do that great routine."

"After the great beam performance, we talked about finishing the meet. We needed to get to the very end of the last routine, making sure we stayed focused and committed to performing for the crowd. Having a good crowd like we did today really helps too; it brings energy to the routines and really helps inspire our student-athletes."

Up Next:
The Ball State gymnastics team returns to action Friday, when it travels to Utah State for a 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT tri-meet which also features Southern Utah.

Record Beam Effort Helps Gymnastics Earn Pair of Sunday Wins

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Players Mentioned

Erica Cooper

Sandra Elsadek

Grace Evans

Victoria Henry

Arden Hudson

Marissa Nychyk

Alivia Ostendorf

Suki Pfister

Hannah Ruthberg

Stefanie Schweikert

Kelly Sulek

Grace Sumner

Megan Teter

Lauren Volpe

Taylor Waldo