Gymnastics Heads To Rutgers January Meet

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State gymnastics squad returns to the competition floor Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when it visits Jersey Mike's Arena for a quad meet hosted by Rutgers.

Along with the Cardinals and Scarlet Knights, Towson and Wisconsin-Oshkosh will be competing in the four-team event.

Here is how you can follow the action:
Live Results | B1G+ Live Broadcast

This will be the second quad meet of the season for the Ball State gymnastics program after it opened the 2023 campaign last Friday at No. 2 Florida with Lindenwood and West Virginia.

HOW IT STARTED:
The season started off strong for Ball State, as it scored 194.100 points when it opened the season last Friday in front of 8,502 fans at Florida's Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center … It was the second-best score in a season-opening meet in program history, trailing only the mark of 194.475 set at Kentucky to open the 2018 campaign.

VAULTING OFF STRONG:
Highlighting the four events was a strong effort on vault, which saw the Cardinals score 49.000 as a team. It ties as the 17th-best vault team score in program history … The effort trailed only Florida's 49.300 on the day and currently ranks first in the MAC and 18th in the country in the Road To Nationals rankings.

PFISTER LEADING THE WAY:
Junior Suki Pfister picked up right where she left off last season, placing third overall at the Florida quad meet with a vault of 9.875 … The effort currently ranks first in the MAC and ties for 27th in the nation in the Road To Nationals rankings.

A STRONG SHOWING ON FLOOR:
The Cardinals also tallied 49.000 points as a team on floor at Florida, which was the best total for a league school opening weekend and ranks 26th nationally according to Road To Nationals … Ball State counted four scores of 9.800-or-higher on floor, led by a 9.850 by junior Victoria Henry.

ALSO SHINING ON FLOOR:
Suki Pfister also turned in a strong performance in her first career competitive floor routine at Florida, tying for second on the team with senior Megan Teter at 9.825.

SCORING HIGH:
Overall, the Cardinals counted seven scores of 9.800-or-higher, including two each from juniors Victoria Henry (Floor – 9.850 / Vault – 9.825), Suki Pfister (Vault – 9.825 / Floor – 9.825), and Hannah Ruthberg (Vault – 9.825 / Floor – 9.800) … The seventh came from senior Megan Teter (Floor – 9.825).

FRESHMAN IMPACT:
Freshman Zoe Middleton found an immediate home in the Ball State lineup, competing in three events at Florida … She started her collegiate career with a 9.700 on bars, followed by a 9.750 on vault and a 9.625 on beam, all of which counted for the Cardinals … Florida native Karah Vargo also made her collegiate debut in her home state, scoring a 9.650 on vault.

THE LAST MEETINGS:
- The last time the Cardinals faced off against Rutgers, Ball State scored a 195.325-195.175 win in a March 10, 2019, quad meet at Kent State.
- The last time BSU battled Towson, the Cardinals suffered a 194.175-194.950 setback on Sept. 5, 2017, in a quad meet hosted by George Washington.
- The last time ball State squared off against Wisconsin-Oshkosh, it scored a 195.025-191.600 victory in a Jan. 28. 2022 quad meet at Eastern Michigan.

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Players Mentioned

Victoria Henry

Zoe Middleton

Suki Pfister

Hannah Ruthberg

Megan Teter

Karah Vargo