Gymnastics Turns in Super Performance on Sunday

Sunday, February 8

Muncie, IN

1 p.m.

Ball State University

195.300

194.650

Kent State

Ashley Szymanski celebrating her 9.950 on bars on Alumni and Sports Crossover Day

February 08, 2026 | Gymnastics

Complete Results

MUNCIE, Ind. - - Led by the highest individual score of the season, the Ball State gymnastics team celebrated Alumni & Sports Crossover Day with head-to-head wins over Mid-American Conference rival Kent State and Illinois State Sunday afternoon at Worthen Arena.

The Cardinals (8-1; 3-0 MAC) tallied its second-highest team score of the season at 195.300 to out-pace both the Golden Flashes (6-5; 1-1 MAC) at 194.650 and the Redbirds (4-10) at 193.975.

Leading the way for Ball State was the bars group, which scored a season-best 49.250 to tie the third-best team bars score in program history. All six gymnasts in the rotation scored at least a 9.775, led by junior Ashley Szymanski who turned in Ball State's best individual score of the season at 9.950.

Entering the week, only 36 scores bars routines in the nation had earned 9.950-or-higher, with Szymanski's being the best by a MAC student-athlete.

Szymanski was not done there, however, as she also turned in the highest beam score of the day at 9.800. With today's two event wins, Szymanski raised her season victory count to seven and her career victory count to 20.

In addition, junior Ava Molina scored her third floor win of the season by tying for meet-high honors at 9.875, while senior Zoe Middleton earned her third straight all-around title with a mark of 38.175.

Rotation 1: Vault (48.300)
- Freshman Carley Stalder and sophomore Karli Mercer tied for team-high honors with scores of 9.775, tying for fourth overall in the competition
- The Cardinals' other top scorers in the rotation included a 9.675 from Ava Thurston and a 9.650 from sophomore Jordanna Phillis

Rotation 2: Bars (49.250)
- Ball State put together its best bars rotation of the season, tying the third-best score in program history at 49.250
- Szymanski led the way with her 9.950, which is the best bars score in the MAC this season and ties as the second highest of her career
- Mercer tied for second overall with a career-best 9.875, while senior Mary Rose Bellan took fourth tying her career best at 9.850
- Ball State also counted a 9.800 from senior Delaney McMahon and one of the two 9.775s by Molina and Middleton

Rotation 3: Beam (48.700)
- Szymanski picked up her second individual win of the meet by 0.050, earning a 9.800 as the anchor in the Ball State lineup
- Molina and McMahon tied for second overall at 9.750
- Middleton followed at 9.725 in a tie for fourth, giving the Cardinals the four highest individual scores on the apparatus
- Rounding out the countable scores was a 9.675 from Stalder

Rotation 4: Floor (49.050)
- The Cardinals closed the meet by tying its season-high floor mark at 49.050
- Molina earned her third floor win of the season with a score of 9.875 which tied for meet-high honors
- Stalder finished fourth overall with a career-best 9.850, while senior Alauna Simms added a 9.800 to tie for fifth
- Rounding out Ball State's countable scores was a career-best 9.750 from sophomore Avery Kantor

All-Around:
- Middleton earned her third all-around win of the season with a score of 38.175 ... The effort was highlighted by her 9.775 on bars and 9.725 on beam ... She also earned a 9.700 on floor

Up Next:
The Ball State gymnastics team closes the home portion of its 2026 season next Sunday (Feb. 15) when it hosts Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m. for Life of a Gym Girl and Senior Day.