Saturday, March 18
Kent, Ohio
2 p.m.
Ball State University
196.325
vs
2023 MAC Gymnastics Championships
Photo by: David Dermer
Henry Earns Vault Title As Gymnastics Places Second At MACs
March 18, 2023 | Gymnastics
KENT, Ohio - - With a team score of 196.325, the Ball State gymnastics team tied its best finish at the Mid-American Conference Championships since the 2002 season, placing second among the seven-team field.
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The team score ties as the fifth-best in program history, while the second-place finish ties as the best for the Cardinals since it won the MAC Championship in 2002. Overall, it is the seventh MAC runner-up finish in program history and the first since the 2016 campaign.
"In the MAC, you can't give up until the very last routine is over," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "Watching the team, we didn't do beam the way we wanted to, but the fact every person stayed in every routine until the very end is why we ended up in second place. Without that effort, we could have very easily find ourselves in last place. We are a very competitive program and our mindset to battle through adversity, fight for every tenth, and stay together can turn into something memorable."
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Second Team All-MAC selection Victoria Henry who picked the perfect time to register a career-best on vault, taking home Ball State's second event title on the apparatus in three years with a 9.950.
"Victoria has worked really hard to be consistent and to perform the 1.5 all year long," Saleem said. "That goes back to what she has been doing in the gym and holding herself to a different standard. It's special when it all comes together in a meet like this, and she gets to walk out of here a MAC Champion."
Senior Megan Teter also had a strong day for the Cardinals, including tying for second on bars with a 9.925. Teter was not done there, however, as she closed the meet with a 9.900 on floor to tie for fourth and help catapult Ball State into second place. Teter was the league's runner-up on floor last season.
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Suki Pfister, who tied for third on vault with a 9.850, was also rewarded for her consistency throughout the season, earning her second consecutive MAC Specialist of the Year honor after being named to the All-MAC First Team earlier in the day.
"Suki's consistency has been awesome to watch this year," Saleem said. "She has big gymnastics and has been committed to the team and getting better, and she's not done yet. Qualifying for regionals as a team means a lot to her. She went by herself last year and told all of us that we are capable of going together. The fact she has this whole group supporting her, and what she gives back to them is amazing. It's been fun seeing how they work together."
Pfister, who the first gymnast in program history to earn MAC Specialist of the Year honors twice, also turned in one of the top floor routines Saturday, posting the third-highest score on the day at 9.925.
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In the all-around, junior Hannah Ruthberg turned in another solid performance, placing fifth overall with a score of 39.300. The effort, which included a 9.850 on bars, 9.825s on vault and floor, and a 9.800 on beam, ties as the eighth-best all-around score in program history.
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In addition, after leading the Cardinals to the 2023 MAC Regular Season championship, as well as nine of the 10 best team scores in program history this season, Saleem was named the MAC Coach of the Year. It's the second time in the past three seasons Saleem has been honored as the league's top coach.
"It means a lot when you get recognized by your peers," Saleem said. "This award represents all the hard work the team has put in this season. To me, it means I have an amazing staff and a great team that supports me. Every person associated with this team is important, and the MAC Coach of the Year award is a representation of the entire program."
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Rotation 2 – Vault (49.050)
- We saved our best for last in the opening rotation as junior Victoria Henry landed a career-best 9.950 to become just the seventh student-athlete in program history to claim an individual MAC Championship on vault.
- Junior Suki Pfister continued her solid season, adding a 9.850 … She has hit at least a 9.800 in all 12 meets this season.
- Junior Hannah Ruthberg started her all-around charge with a 9.825.
- Rounding out Ball State's countable routines were a 9.725 from freshman Zoe Middleton and a 9.700 from senior Megan Teter.
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Rotation 4 – Bars (49.200)
- The Cardinals picked up the pace on bars, registering the fourth-best team score in program history at 49.200
- Senior Megan Teter led the way, falling just shy of her program record set earlier this year at 9.925 … The score still ties as the second-best individual score in program history and earned her a tie for second in the event.
- Senior Grace Evans and junior Hannah Ruthberg each registered 9.850s to help bolster the score.
- Ball State also counted a 9.800 from Zoe Middleton and a 9.775 from sophomore Grace Sumner.
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Rotation 5 – Beam (48.675)
- Sophomore Grace Sumner led the way for the Cardinals on beam, landing a 9.850
- Senior Grace Evans and junior Hannah Ruthberg were not far behind, tying for second on the squad with 9.800s.
- The Cardinals also counted a 9.675 from fifth-year senior Lauren Volpe and a 9.550 from junior Victoria Henry.
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Rotation 7 – Floor (49.400):
- Ball State ended the meet by tying the second-best team floor score in program history at 49.400.
- Junior Suki Pfister turned in another solid effort on floor, placing third overall with a 9.925.
- Junior Victoria Henry and senior Megan Teter were close behind, tying for fourth overall with scores of 9.900.
- Freshman Zoe Middleton landed a 9.850 and junior Hannah Ruthberg followed with a 9.825 to round out Ball State's countable gymnasts on floor.
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 All-Around:
- Junior Hannah Ruthberg turned in another solid performance, placing fifth overall with a score of 39.300 … The effort, which included a 9.850 on bars, 9.825s on vault and floor, and a 9.800 on beam, ties as the eighth-best all-around score in program history.
- Junior Victoria Henry also turned in a solid all-around effort, scoring 39.075 paced by her championship winning score of 9.950 on vault and her 9.900 on floor.
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Next Time Out:
Having already locked up a team berth in the NCAA Regionals, the Ball State gymnastics team will await Selection Monday to see which of the four pre-determined sites it will compete at: Denver, Los Angeles, Norman, or Pittsburgh.
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The selection show will air at noon on NCAA.com.
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The team score ties as the fifth-best in program history, while the second-place finish ties as the best for the Cardinals since it won the MAC Championship in 2002. Overall, it is the seventh MAC runner-up finish in program history and the first since the 2016 campaign.
"In the MAC, you can't give up until the very last routine is over," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "Watching the team, we didn't do beam the way we wanted to, but the fact every person stayed in every routine until the very end is why we ended up in second place. Without that effort, we could have very easily find ourselves in last place. We are a very competitive program and our mindset to battle through adversity, fight for every tenth, and stay together can turn into something memorable."
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Second Team All-MAC selection Victoria Henry who picked the perfect time to register a career-best on vault, taking home Ball State's second event title on the apparatus in three years with a 9.950.
Henry's individual championship on vault follows runner-up finishes on both vault and floor at last season's championship event. In addition to her event title on vault, Henry would tie for fourth on floor with a score of 9.900.No better time for a personal best from Victoria Henry with a 9.950??#WeFly | #PTS | @MACSports pic.twitter.com/tkjYXgglij
— BallState Gymnastics (@BallStateGYM) March 18, 2023
"Victoria has worked really hard to be consistent and to perform the 1.5 all year long," Saleem said. "That goes back to what she has been doing in the gym and holding herself to a different standard. It's special when it all comes together in a meet like this, and she gets to walk out of here a MAC Champion."
Senior Megan Teter also had a strong day for the Cardinals, including tying for second on bars with a 9.925. Teter was not done there, however, as she closed the meet with a 9.900 on floor to tie for fourth and help catapult Ball State into second place. Teter was the league's runner-up on floor last season.
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Suki Pfister, who tied for third on vault with a 9.850, was also rewarded for her consistency throughout the season, earning her second consecutive MAC Specialist of the Year honor after being named to the All-MAC First Team earlier in the day.
"Suki's consistency has been awesome to watch this year," Saleem said. "She has big gymnastics and has been committed to the team and getting better, and she's not done yet. Qualifying for regionals as a team means a lot to her. She went by herself last year and told all of us that we are capable of going together. The fact she has this whole group supporting her, and what she gives back to them is amazing. It's been fun seeing how they work together."
Pfister, who the first gymnast in program history to earn MAC Specialist of the Year honors twice, also turned in one of the top floor routines Saturday, posting the third-highest score on the day at 9.925.
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Suki secures 3rd place on individual Floor Score????#WeFly | #PTS | @MACSports pic.twitter.com/AOLLvCGIcv
— BallState Gymnastics (@BallStateGYM) March 18, 2023
In the all-around, junior Hannah Ruthberg turned in another solid performance, placing fifth overall with a score of 39.300. The effort, which included a 9.850 on bars, 9.825s on vault and floor, and a 9.800 on beam, ties as the eighth-best all-around score in program history.
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In addition, after leading the Cardinals to the 2023 MAC Regular Season championship, as well as nine of the 10 best team scores in program history this season, Saleem was named the MAC Coach of the Year. It's the second time in the past three seasons Saleem has been honored as the league's top coach.
"It means a lot when you get recognized by your peers," Saleem said. "This award represents all the hard work the team has put in this season. To me, it means I have an amazing staff and a great team that supports me. Every person associated with this team is important, and the MAC Coach of the Year award is a representation of the entire program."
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Rotation 2 – Vault (49.050)
- We saved our best for last in the opening rotation as junior Victoria Henry landed a career-best 9.950 to become just the seventh student-athlete in program history to claim an individual MAC Championship on vault.
- Junior Suki Pfister continued her solid season, adding a 9.850 … She has hit at least a 9.800 in all 12 meets this season.
- Junior Hannah Ruthberg started her all-around charge with a 9.825.
- Rounding out Ball State's countable routines were a 9.725 from freshman Zoe Middleton and a 9.700 from senior Megan Teter.
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Rotation 4 – Bars (49.200)
- The Cardinals picked up the pace on bars, registering the fourth-best team score in program history at 49.200
- Senior Megan Teter led the way, falling just shy of her program record set earlier this year at 9.925 … The score still ties as the second-best individual score in program history and earned her a tie for second in the event.
- Senior Grace Evans and junior Hannah Ruthberg each registered 9.850s to help bolster the score.
- Ball State also counted a 9.800 from Zoe Middleton and a 9.775 from sophomore Grace Sumner.
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Rotation 5 – Beam (48.675)
- Sophomore Grace Sumner led the way for the Cardinals on beam, landing a 9.850
- Senior Grace Evans and junior Hannah Ruthberg were not far behind, tying for second on the squad with 9.800s.
- The Cardinals also counted a 9.675 from fifth-year senior Lauren Volpe and a 9.550 from junior Victoria Henry.
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Rotation 7 – Floor (49.400):
- Ball State ended the meet by tying the second-best team floor score in program history at 49.400.
- Junior Suki Pfister turned in another solid effort on floor, placing third overall with a 9.925.
- Junior Victoria Henry and senior Megan Teter were close behind, tying for fourth overall with scores of 9.900.
- Freshman Zoe Middleton landed a 9.850 and junior Hannah Ruthberg followed with a 9.825 to round out Ball State's countable gymnasts on floor.
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 All-Around:
- Junior Hannah Ruthberg turned in another solid performance, placing fifth overall with a score of 39.300 … The effort, which included a 9.850 on bars, 9.825s on vault and floor, and a 9.800 on beam, ties as the eighth-best all-around score in program history.
- Junior Victoria Henry also turned in a solid all-around effort, scoring 39.075 paced by her championship winning score of 9.950 on vault and her 9.900 on floor.
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Next Time Out:
Having already locked up a team berth in the NCAA Regionals, the Ball State gymnastics team will await Selection Monday to see which of the four pre-determined sites it will compete at: Denver, Los Angeles, Norman, or Pittsburgh.
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The selection show will air at noon on NCAA.com.
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