Program Record Six Gymnasts Earn All-MAC Honors

CLEVELAND - - The Ball State gymnastics program set another program record Tuesday afternoon, with a league-high six Cardinals earning All-Mid-American Conference honors for their work over the course of the 2024 season.

Representing the Cardinals on the First Team All-MAC squad were senior Suki Pfister on vault and freshman Ashley Szymanski on bars. Earning Second Team All-MAC honors were senior Victoria Henry on vault, senior Hannah Ruthberg on beam, sophomore Zoe Middleton on floor and graduate student Megan Teter in the all-around.

"I'm so excited to see these six GymCards recognized for their hard work and the high-level consistency they have created in our program this year," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "I love working with these women and watching them compete. Ashley, Suki, Zoe, Victoria, Hannah and Megan finished the regular season as some of the top individuals in the MAC and deserve the honor of being named all-conference. They have elevated the Ball State Standard and are driving our team to finish the season strong."

Pfister earns First Team All-MAC honors on vault for the third straight season after ranking first in the league and fifth nationally with a national qualifying score (NQS) of 9.935. A three-time MAC Specialist of the Week this season, Pfister has turned in seven vault scores of 9.900-or-higher this season, including only the second perfect 10.00 on the apparatus in program history. She's also won the vault competition in seven events, while placing second in three others.

Szymanski earns First Team All-MAC honors on bars in her debut season after ranking first in the league and 28th nationally with an NQS of 9.910. She has won the bars competition in five meets this season and turned in five routines of 9.900-or-higher. Her career-best score was a 9.975 in her MAC debut versus Bowling Green (Jan. 22).

Henry earns Second Team All-MAC honors for the third time in her career after ranking second in the league with a vault NQS of 9.885. She turned in a career-best 9.975 to win the event at the Ohio State Tri Meet (Jan. 14) and added a 9.950 at George Washington (Feb. 23). Henry has competed in the all-around for the Cardinals much of the season, also setting career-high marks on bars (9.925), beam (9.850), floor (9.925) and in the all-around (39.475).

Ruthberg earns Second Team All-MAC honors for the first time in her career for her effort on beam, in which she ranks fourth in the league with an NQS of 9.850. She turned in a career-best beam performance of 9.900 in the dual win at Western Michigan (Feb. 17), while scoring 9.800-or-higher in eight meets. Another all-around gymnast for the Cardinals, Ruthberg has also turned in career-best scores on vault (9.875), bars (9.925), floor (9.925) and in the all-around (39.425) this season.

Middleton earns Second Team All-MAC honors for the first time in her career for ranking second in the league on floor with an NQS of 9.920. She has posted five scores of 9.925 on floor, while also tallying a 9.900. A three-time MAC Gymnast of the Week, Middleton is also BSU's top all-around gymnasts with an NQS of 39.330. She leads Ball State with 30 scores of 9.800-or-better this season, including the first perfect 10 in program history on bars and a program record 39.750 in the all-around. She has also turned in career-best scores on vault (9.950) and beam (9.900) this season. Overall, Middleton has won eight individual events and capture four all-around titles over the course of the season, while 41 of her 44 routines have counted in the final team score.

Teter earns Second Team All-MAC honors for the first time in her career after ranking seventh in the league with an all-around NQS of 39.190. In her first season as an all-around gymnast for the Cardinals, Teter has turned in 17 total routines of 9.800-or-better, including the second perfect 10.00 in program history on bars. She has also registered a career-best all-around score of 39.575 this season, while posting career-best scores on beam (9.875) and floor (9.925).

The Ball State gymnastics team returns to action Saturday when it hosts the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championships inside Worthen Arena. Action is set to begin at 2 p.m.

All-MAC First Team
Vault – Suki Pfister, Senior, Ball State (9.935)
Bars – Sarah Haxton, Senior, Kent State (9.910)
Bars – Ashley Szymanski, Freshman, Ball State (9.910)
Beam – Ella Chemotti, Junior, Eastern Michigan (9.880)
Floor – Payton Murphy, Fifth Year, Western Michigan (9.940)
All-Around – Raisa Boris, Senior, Eastern Michigan (39.360)

All-MAC Second Team
Vault – Victoria Henry, Senior, Ball State (9.885)
Vault – Kiera O'Shea, Sophomore, Northern Illinois (9.875)
Bars – Alyssa Al-Ashari, Senior, Northern Illinois (9.885)
Beam – Heidi Schultz, Sophomore, Kent State (9.870)
Beam – Hannah Ruthberg, Senior, Ball State (9.850)
Floor – Zoe Middleton, Sophomore, Ball State (9.920)
Floor – Karlie Franz, Graduate Student, Kent State (9.920)
All-Around – Luciana Alvarado-Reid, Sophomore, Central Michigan (39.335)
All-Around – Megan Teter, Graduate Student, Ball State (39.190)

Ball State University Athletics

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Victoria Henry

Zoe Middleton

Suki Pfister

Hannah Ruthberg

Ashley Szymanski

Megan Teter

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