Gymnastics Squishes Western Michigan and Wilberforce

MUNCIE, Ind. - - Fueled by an energetic crowd and their love of Squishmallows, the Ball State gymnastics team earned a season-high score of 195.500 to take home top honors in the Ball State Tri Sunday afternoon at Worthen Arena.

"The crowd was awesome," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "It was exciting to see all the energy and the way we were able to feed off it as a team. I loved how the crowd and our team were interacting, so a big shoutout to the community for coming and supporting us."

It was a clutch day for the Cardinals (9-2; 1-0 Mid-American Conference), who rallied despite being shorthanded to top both league rival Western Michigan (194.675) and a fledgling Wilberforce (173.100).

"After warmups, we had to make some lineup changes and the team handled it beautifully," Saleem added. "They displayed the true definition of having each other's backs, while staying calm, cool and collected. They did what they needed to do to get us a pair of wins and I could not be prouder of the way they battled today."

Leading the charge was junior Zoe Middleton who took home both the floor title and her first all-around championship of the season. She scored 9.850 on her way to the floor crown, while earning a season-best 38.925 to take home the all-around title.

The Cardinals also turned in a dominating effort on beam, led by sophomore Lindsay Fuller who earn her first career individual event victory with a career-best score of 9.875. Overall, Ball State's gymnasts turned in the top four scored on the apparatus.

Rounding out BSU's event winners was sophomore Ashley Szymanski who picked up her eighth collegiate bars victory and her third score of 9.875 this season.

Overall, Ball State's gymnasts tied or registered nine career-high scores on the day, including a mark of 9.825 from sophomore Lindsay Girard to lead the squad on vault.

ROTATION 1: Vault (48.800)
- Girard led the Cardinals and tied for second overall with a career-best score of 9.825 as Ball State's final countable routine of the rotation.
- Middleton turned in a 9.800 one spot earlier, was followed a career-best 9.750 from senior Cai Afalla.
- Ball State also received countable scores of 9.725 from senior Carissa Martinez and a 9.700 from freshman Karli Mercer.

ROTATION 2: Bars (49.025)
- The best rotation score of the meet was Ball State's 49.025 on bars which was capped by Szymanski's third score of 9.875 this season
- Senior Grace Sumner and Middleton both tied for third in the event with marks of 9.800.
- The Cardinals also counted 9.775s from sophomore meet MVP Ava Molina and freshman Jordanna Phillis, with Phillis' mark tying her career-best effort.

ROTATION 3: Beam (48.800)
- Ball State dominated the beam event, posting the four highest scores of the meet.
- Leading the way was Fuller who's career-best 9.875 tied Szymanski's bars routine as the highest scoring of the meet.
- Sophomore Delaney McMahon added a career-best 9.825 to take second overall, followed by a 9.775 from Szymanski and a 9.725 from Molina.
- Sumner turned in BSU's final countable score a 9.600

ROTATION 4: Floor (48.925)
- The Cardinals closed the meet with another solid rotation paced by Middleton's 9.850 to win the event.
- Junior Alauna Simms tied for second and tied her career-high mark with a 9.825, while Afalla tied her career-high with a 9.775 to tie for fifth.
- The Cardinals also counted a 9.750 from Martinez and a 9.725 with both Molina and Girard posting the mark.

ALL-AROUND:
- Middleton was Ball State's lone all-around competitor, turning in a season-best 38.925 in an effort that included a 9.850 to win the floor competition.

UP NEXT:
The Ball State gymnastics team returns to action next Sunday with a 2 p.m. showdown at league-rival Bowling Green.

Gymnastics Squishes Western Michigan and Wilberforce

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Players Mentioned

Cai Afalla

Lindsay Fuller

Lindsay Girard

Carissa Martinez

Delaney McMahon

Karli Mercer

Zoe Middleton

Ava Molina

Jordanna Phillis

Alauna Simms

Grace Sumner

Ashley Szymanski