Henry's 9.975 on Vault Leads Gymnastics at Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio - - Senior Victoria Henry turned in the best vault of her collegiate career Sunday afternoon at the Covelli Center, landing a 9.975 to lead the Ball State gymnastics team in the tri-meet at Ohio State.

Henry's 9.975 ties as the second-best score in any event in program history, trailing only the perfect 10.000 vault by Sarah Mikrut at Kent State on Feb. 21, 1997. Denasiha Christian landed the Cardinals' other 9.975 on vault at Northern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2016.

"Her vault was so beautiful," head coach Joanna Saleem said about Henry's performance. "She did an amazing one in touch, and made it happen again during the competition. She had a great meet and it's fun to watch her go out as a senior and find her groove, rhythm and go out there and have fun doing the gymnastics."

The effort gave Henry the vault title, and along with a second straight 9.900 on floor, helped her finish third overall in the all-around at 39.325. It ties as the sixth-best all-around score in program history and was just 0.075 off her program-record mark set last season.

Overall, the Cardinals counted four scores of 9.900-or-higher Sunday, including a career-best mark of 9.925 by sophomore Zoe Middleton to tie for second in the floor competition and a career-best 9.900 by freshman Ashley Szymanski to take top honors on bars.

"We know Ashley is the real deal on bars," Saleem said. "It's so pretty to watch. Such big swinging and to see her be able to hit the dismount that she's been practicing in the gym, it's amazing. It's really fun to see her be successful on bars and hopefully that continues to add confidence so she can get out there and do it again."

Combined, Ball State finished the day with a team score of 195.650 to top Towson (195.225) in head-to-head action. Host Ohio State won the meet with a score of 197.150.

"There were a lot of good things that happened today," Saleem added. "Especially finishing so strong on bars. They competed free and it was really fun to watch them end the meet the way we've been training in the gym."

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:

ROTATION 1: Beam (48.425)
- Ball State saved its best routine for last on beam, with junior Grace Sumner posting a 9.775.
- Graduate student Megan Teter was not far behind, collecting a 9.750.
- Rounding out Ball State's scoring gymnasts were senior Victoria Henry with a 9.700, sophomore Zoe Middleton at 9.650, and freshman Lindsay Fuller at 9.550.

ROTATION 2: Floor (49.175)
- Sophomore Zoe Middleton shined in her second floor routine of the season, tying her career best and the eight-best individual mark in program history with a score of 9.925.
- Senior Victoria Henry tied her winning mark from opening weekend, earning a 9.900.
- The Cardinals also counted 9.825s from seniors Suki Pfister and Hannah Ruthberg, along with a 9.700 from graduate student Megan Teter, to tie the 17th-best team mark in program history in the event at 49.175.

ROTATION 3: Vault (48.950)
- Senior Victoria Henry was nearly flawless on vault, tying the second-highest score in program history in any event with a 9.975 to easily win the event Sunday.
- Senior Hannah Ruthberg was second for the Cardinals with a 9.825, followed by junior Carissa Martinez at 9.750.
- Ball State also counted a 9.725 from graduate student Megan Teter and 9.675 from sophomore Zoe Middleton.

ROTATION 4: Bars (48.825)
- Freshman Ashley Szymanski turned in another brilliant effort on bars, tying the fifth-best individual score in program history with a 9.900.
- Ball state also earned a pair of 9.825s from sophomore Zoe Middleton and junior Grace Sumner.
- Throw in a 9.800 from senior Hannah Ruthberg and a 9.750 from senior Victoria Henry, and the Cardinals finished the meet with the 13th-best team bars score in program history at 49.100.

ALL-AROUND:
- Senior Victoria Henry finished the day tying the sixth-best all-around mark in program history at 39.325, highlighted by her winning mark of 9.975 on vault … She also scored 9.900 on floor, 9.750 on bars and 9.700 on beam.
- Sophomore Zoe Middleton hit a career-best mark in the all-round for the second straight weekend, finishing with a 39.075 … The effort included the winning mark of 9.925 on floor, a 9.825 on bars, a 9.675 on vault and a 9.650 on beam.
- Senior Hannah Ruthberg counted three scores of 9.800-or-higher to finish with an all-around mark of 38.450 … She scored 9.825s on both floor and vault, while earning a 9.800 on bars.
- Graduate student Megan Teter added a career-best all-around score of her own, finishing with a 38.250 … Her best score was a 9.750 on beam, followed by a 9.725 on vault and a 9.700 on floor.

UP NEXT:
The Ball State gymnastics program heads to Lebanon, Tennessee, for the Tennessee Collegiate Classic. The Cardinals will compete in the 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT session alongside Kent State, Southeast Missouri and Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Henry's 9.975 on Vault Leads Gymnastics at Ohio State

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Players Mentioned

Lindsay Fuller

Victoria Henry

Carissa Martinez

Zoe Middleton

Suki Pfister

Hannah Ruthberg

Grace Sumner

Ashley Szymanski

Megan Teter