Sunday, February 20
Muncie, Ind.
1 p.m.
Ball State University
196.325
vs
192.600
Eastern Michigan
Gymnastics Honors Seniors with Program Record Performance
February 20, 2022 | Gymnastics
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Sunday will be one of those days the Ball State gymnastics seniors will remember for the rest of their lives.
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Competing in Worthen Arena for the final time in their careers, seniors Sandra Elsadek, Marissa Nychyk, Stefanie Schweikert, Sari Thaler, and Lauren Volpe left it all on the competition floor.
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"Today was a big day for our seniors," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "They were locked in from the moment they arrived, putting the gymnastics and team first. They came out and showed the rest of the team this is how you handle a senior day. It's a large group of seniors, and they really led the squad today, keeping everyone on track."
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Their efforts set the tone for on a record-setting day for the Cardinals, which broke the 196.000 plateau for the first time in program history with a program record team score of 196.325 to top visiting Eastern Michigan (192.600) in the 2022 home finale.
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"It's exciting for our team to see they can break that ceiling," Saleem said. "We've known they could do it for a long time, but to get out here and do it is impressive. That is how they practice every day, and for them to come out here and perform like that is the thing we've been looking for most of the season. This was a great, successful performance on their part. But more importantly, it was the way they did it. They came out and did the gymnastics we've been doing all year in the practice gym."
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Overall, BSU's gymnasts won three of the four events, including owning the top six routines in the second-best floor rotation in program history, a 49.400.
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Rotation 1 – Vault (48.875)
Rotation 2 – Bars (49.100)
Rotation 3 – Beam (48.950)
Rotation 4 – Floor (49.400)
All-Around
MORE FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA SALEEM:
They built all throughout the competition and were able to perform the way they have been doing every day in practice. They did not get distracted by scores, circumstances, or any of those other things that don't help them in their performance. That's the valuable lesson; coming in and breaking it back down to doing the gymnastics. You don't have to be a rock star. You don't have to go try so hard. You just come in here and do what you've been doing every day in the practice gym.
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Megan's floor routine was so energetic, precise, and fun. It just pulled you in, and that's what building on each routine does. It was awesome to watch her, you could just feel the energy and excitement coming off her after every pass and throughout the choreography. That's the fun part of our sport, to watch the product of all the hard work they've been putting in the gym.
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UP NEXT:
The Ball State gymnastics team returns to the road Friday, when it travels to Northern Illinois for a 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT competition.
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Competing in Worthen Arena for the final time in their careers, seniors Sandra Elsadek, Marissa Nychyk, Stefanie Schweikert, Sari Thaler, and Lauren Volpe left it all on the competition floor.
Â
"Today was a big day for our seniors," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "They were locked in from the moment they arrived, putting the gymnastics and team first. They came out and showed the rest of the team this is how you handle a senior day. It's a large group of seniors, and they really led the squad today, keeping everyone on track."
Â
Their efforts set the tone for on a record-setting day for the Cardinals, which broke the 196.000 plateau for the first time in program history with a program record team score of 196.325 to top visiting Eastern Michigan (192.600) in the 2022 home finale.
Â
"It's exciting for our team to see they can break that ceiling," Saleem said. "We've known they could do it for a long time, but to get out here and do it is impressive. That is how they practice every day, and for them to come out here and perform like that is the thing we've been looking for most of the season. This was a great, successful performance on their part. But more importantly, it was the way they did it. They came out and did the gymnastics we've been doing all year in the practice gym."
Â
Overall, BSU's gymnasts won three of the four events, including owning the top six routines in the second-best floor rotation in program history, a 49.400.
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Rotation 1 – Vault (48.875)
- The Cardinals counted five scores of 9.700-or-higher in the first rotation of the day, led by a first-place score of 9.850 from sophomore Victoria Henry.
- Overall, Ball State had the top three performances on vault, with senior Stefanie Schweikert placing second at 9.825, and sophomore Suki Pfister placing third at 9.800.
- BSU also counted 9.700s from junior Alivia Ostendorf and sophomore Hannah Ruthberg
Rotation 2 – Bars (49.100)
- Ball State turned in its best bars score of the season, with all six competitors scoring at least 9.775 for a team score of 49.100.
- Junior Megan Teter and sophomore Hannah Ruthberg tied for second place overall, leading the squad at 9.850, with Ruthberg's effort tying her career-best mark.
- Senior Sandra Elsadek was third on the squad with a career-best mark of 9.825, followed by sophomore Victoria Henry at 9.800.
- Senior Marissa Nychyk and junior Grace Evans each scored 9.775s to round out the BSU lineup.
Rotation 3 – Beam (48.950)
- BSU's beam squad was back in true form, collecting five scores of 9.700-or-higher for a team score of 48.950.
- Senior Lauren Volpe and junior Taylor Waldo led the way, tying for the event win with scores of 9.850 … Waldo's mark even tied her career-best performance.Â
- The Cardinals also counted 9.775s from junior Alivia Ostendorf and sophomore Hannah Ruthberg, as well as a 9.700 from freshman Grace Sumner.
Rotation 4 – Floor (49.400)
- The Cardinals saved the best for last, tying the second-best team floor performance in program history by counting five scores of 9.850-or-higher for a combined 49.400
- Junior Megan Teter put together BSU's best floor routine of the season to date, scoring 9.925 which ties as the seventh-best individual effort in program history.
- The Cardinals also counted 9.875s from junior Taylor Waldo, freshman Erica Cooper and sophomore Hannah Ruthberg … Waldo and Cooper's performances were career-best efforts.
- Senior Sandra Elsadek also landed a 9.850 for BSU's fifth countable score, while junior Alivia Ostendorf landed a 9.800.
- In the final routine of the meet, senior Sari Thaler shined, adding a 9.850 of her own in a beautiful exhibition performance.
All-Around
- Sophomore Hannah Ruthberg won the all-around competition with a score of 39.200, counting scores of 9.700 on vault, 9.850 on bars, 9.775 on beam and 9.875 on floor.
- Senior Sandra Elsadek finished second in the all-around with a career-best score of 39.000 … She registered scores of 9.650 on vault, 9.825 on bars, 9.675 on beam and 9.850 on floor.
MORE FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA SALEEM:
They built all throughout the competition and were able to perform the way they have been doing every day in practice. They did not get distracted by scores, circumstances, or any of those other things that don't help them in their performance. That's the valuable lesson; coming in and breaking it back down to doing the gymnastics. You don't have to be a rock star. You don't have to go try so hard. You just come in here and do what you've been doing every day in the practice gym.
Â
Megan's floor routine was so energetic, precise, and fun. It just pulled you in, and that's what building on each routine does. It was awesome to watch her, you could just feel the energy and excitement coming off her after every pass and throughout the choreography. That's the fun part of our sport, to watch the product of all the hard work they've been putting in the gym.
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UP NEXT:
The Ball State gymnastics team returns to the road Friday, when it travels to Northern Illinois for a 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT competition.
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