Gymnastics Wows Fans As White Tops Red In Exhibition

Friday, December 8

Muncie, IN

7 p.m.

Ball State University

Red vs. White

Gymnastics Wows Fans As White Tops Red In Exhibition

December 08, 2023 | Gymnastics

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State gymnastics team kept an energetic Worthen Arena crowd on its feet Friday night with numerous strong performances in its annual Red vs. White scrimmage.

"I think we were all excited and energized by the crowd tonight," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "They brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm, which our team fed off. In turn, we were able to provide them with some great performances, especially at the end of the night on floor."

In fact, the meet saw the Cardinals post 16 routines of 9.700-or-higher, with the best two coming at the end. That was when sophomore Zoe Middleton and senior Victoria Henry struck for back-to-back 9.900 floor routines to end the friendly competition.

Those were two of numerous highlights from the friendly which saw Team White earn a hard-fought 125.175-123.775 victory over Team Red.

"This was a great opportunity for us to not only get out in front of our fans, but also perform in front of the judges," Saleem said. "We are grateful to be able to have an exhibition like this were our young women who have not had a lot of experience on the competition floor really got to take that time today. We put a lot of new people out, and just getting them acclimated to being in this arena and in front of fans will pay off as we head into the start of the season."

Middleton would play a large role in Team White's win as the only all-around competitor of the night, scoring a 39.150 and hitting all her routines for 9.700-or-higher.

Henry, a member of Team Red, would take the individual win on vault (9.875) and tie for the top honors with red teammate Mary Rose Bellan on bars (9.850). Those performances helped Team Red hold a 68.475 to 68.350 lead after two rotations.

However, Middleton's winning mark of 9.700 on beam helped shift the momentum to Team White which won the final to events to earn the meet victory.

In addition to the solid performance above, some new faces also shined for the Cardinals led by junior transfer Carissa Martinez's score of 9.800 to open the night for Team White on vault.

Freshman making their Ball State debut at the meet included Lindsay Girard, Ashley Szymanski, Ava Molina, Delaney McMahon and Lindsay Fuller.

Next up, the Ball State gymnastics team will travel to Bowing Green next Sunday (Dec. 17) for a 3 p.m. exhibition versus the Falcons.