Gymnastics Shines in Red vs. White Scrimmage

Monday, December 9

Muncie, IN

7 p.m.

Ball State University

Red vs. White

December 09, 2024 | Gymnastics

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

"We appreciate all the fans that showed up tonight to cheer us on," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "Tonight's meet was a great learning opportunity for us, not only getting our newcomers a look at competing in Worthen but giving us a chance to get out in front of both our fans and the judges."

The meet saw the Cardinals post 12 routines of 9.700-or-higher and a down-to-the wire finish with the final floor routine by graduate student Hannah Ruthberg sealing a 106.050 to 105.100 come-from-behind victory for the White squad.

Overall, sophomore Ashley Szymanski turned in the two highest scoring routines of the night, earning a 9.875 on bars and 9.850 on beam for the Red team.

The White squad featured both of the meet's all-around competitors, with Ruthberg and sophomore Ava Molina competing in all four events. Ruthberg's best effort was a 9.800 on bars, while Molina scored 9.725s on both beam and floor.

Rounding out Ball State's top scores was a 9.800 on bars from senior Grace Sumner of the Red team.

After the first three rotations, it looked like Red squad was going to claim the win, leading 77.725 to 77.100. However, a strong final rotation starting with Molina's 9.725 helped the White squad pick up its third consecutive victory in the preseason intrasquad showdown.

Next up, the Ball State gymnastics team will officially open the 2025 campaign Friday, Jan. 3, with a quad meet at Missouri. The season-opening meet will include Illinois State and Southeast Missouri State.