Gymnastics Turns In Strong Effort at Penn State Quad

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - - It was another solid night for the Ball State gymnastics program which tallied 15 scores of 9.800-or-higher on its way to team score of 195.875 Friday night at the Penn State Quad.

The effort helped the Cardinals (12-4) earn the head-to-head victory over West Virginia (195.800). Host Penn State turned in the top team score at 196.825, while Towson was right behind at 196.775.

"Despite not having our best performance as a team, there were some quality moments tonight," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "I saw a lot of fight from this group, and we need to reflect on the areas where we struggled, and build on the areas that went well. The key is to be driven enough to improve and be better tomorrow.

Ball State started the night on floor, where sophomore Zoe Middleton tying for third overall with a score 9.875. It was Middleton's best score of the night in an all-around effort which placed second overall at 39.325.

The second rotation saw another impressive vault from one of the nation's best vaulters, with Suki Pfister placing second overall with a 9.950. Pfister, who entered the meet ranked sixth in the nation with a vault NQS of 9.910, has tallied five vaults of 9.900-or-higher this season.

Freshman Ashley Szymanski continued to shine on bars, tying for second overall at 9.875. In addition, junior Grace Sumner and Middleton tied for fifth with marks of 9.825.

The Cardinals closed the night on beam, with senior Hannah Ruthberg leading the way at 9.850.

Up next, the Ball State gymnastics team returns to #MACtion with a Sunday, March 10 meet at Northern Illinois.

Gymnastics Turns In Strong Effort at Penn State Quad

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Players Mentioned

Zoe Middleton

Hannah Ruthberg

Grace Sumner

Ashley Szymanski

Players Mentioned

Zoe Middleton

Hannah Ruthberg

Grace Sumner

Ashley Szymanski