MAC CHAMPS: Gymnastics Earns Second Straight MAC Regular Season Title

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State gymnastics team celebrated senior day in style Sunday afternoon at Worthen Arena, claiming its second consecutive Mid-American Conference Regular Season Championship with a 196.400 to 195.150 victory over Eastern Michigan.

To do it, the Cardinals (14-4; 5-1 MAC) relied heavily on the four gymnasts it celebrated immediately after the meet.

"You always love to see your seniors perform well," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "Victoria sticking her vault was amazing, and the way all four of them, Suki, Hannah, Megan and Vic, competed on floor was very fun to watch. For them to turn in such solid performances when we are closing out a day recognizing them for their accomplishments and leadership speaks volumes. They have brought a lot to our program, and it was great to honor them today with another championship. But they know, this is not the end, there is still work to do."

It started on vault, with all four seniors throwing in countable scores as Ball State tied the seventh-best team vault score in program history at 49.175. Leading the way was senior Victoria Henry who closed the rotation with a winning mark of 9.925.

Senior Suki Pfister was not far behind, tying for second by registering a 9.900 for her seventh vault of 9.900-or-higher this season. Pfister entered the meet ranked fourth in the nation with a vault NQS of 9.935.

Rounding out the senior day highlights on vault were a 9.800 from Hannah Ruthberg and a 9.750 from Megan Teter.

The second rotation saw BSU's young guns honor the team's upperclassmen in a big way, starting with freshman Ava Molina. In just her second appearance in the bars competition lineup this season, Molina wowed the enthusiastic Worthen Arena crowd with a winning score of 9.900.

Not far behind was sophomore Zoe Middleton who tied Teter for second at 9.850. Overall, all six Ball State gymnasts scored at least a 9.800 on bars as the Cardinals tied the sixth-best team score in program history in the event at 49.250.

While the third rotation was the toughest for the Cardinals, it still managed to top the Eagles (7-9; 2-4 MAC) on beam led by a second-place score of 9.775 from junior Grace Sumner. Henry turned in BSU's second best beam score of the afternoon at 9.725.

Ball State saved its best for last, however, turning in a dominating effort on floor, counting five scores of 9.875-or-higher to tie the third-best team floor score in program history at 49.500.

Pfister and Middleton led the way, tying for the event victory at 9.925. The remainder of the senior class followed with Henry earning a 9.900, while Ruthberg and Teter scored 9.875s.

Powered by her 9.925 on floor and 9.850 on bars, Middleton would earn her fourth all-around title of the season with a 39.225.

Throw it all together and Ball State's team score of 196.400 is the seventh best in program history and the seventh time this season the Cardinals have scored 196.000-or-higher. The effort helped BSU earn a share of the 2024 MAC regular season title with Kent State who also finished the regular season with a 5-1 league mark.

"We had some really great performances, but we could be better on beam," Saleem added. "As a team we know that, but we did not let that get in our way and we left beam behind us and went over to floor and finished strong. That is a skill set this team has really learned how to do. To stay present and not get distracted until the very end."

In addition to the four seniors in the competition, the Cardinals also honored student manager Kelly Sulek who was a two-year letterwinner for the program before being medically disqualified. Sulek has working tirelessly over the last two seasons helping us become better as a team and doing everything in her power to help us put points and program records on the board.

The Ball State gymnastics team returns to action Saturday when it welcomes the other six league teams to Worthen Arena for the 2024 Mid-American Conference Gymnastics Championships. Action begins at 2 p.m. and tickets are available at https://ballstatesports.com/gymnasticstickets

MAC CHAMPS: Gymnastics Earns Second Straight MAC Regular Season Title

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Players Mentioned

Victoria Henry

Zoe Middleton

Ava Molina

Suki Pfister

Hannah Ruthberg

Grace Sumner

Megan Teter