(BALL STATE RELEASE)
MUNCIE - Gymnastics season at Ball State started with a head-to-head victory and valuable experience for new faces Sunday afternoon at Worthen Arena. Ball State scored 193.500 in its season opener, followed by Central Michigan's 192.375 score.
"Today we learned that we need to compete the way we practice," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "But for all the things this year that have been different, for us to stay together as a team and let go of mistakes and move on - that's something we really need. To see that is very exciting. Knowing we can perform well is exciting. To start at home and know that we come back next week, it's a comforting way to get the season started."
TOP CARDINAL PERFORMANCES: Arden Hudson was the meet's top scorer in both bars (9.825) and beam (9.750). Her bars score tied her career best and she now has five career first-place finishes. Marissa Nychyk and Victoria Henry were the top scorers on vault (9.775) and Megan Teter's 9.750 on floor was the team's best in that event.
"Arden did really well. The scores don't show it on vault, that a tricky vault sometimes. But she did a great job as a senior coming out and leading the group," Saleem said.
MAC CONTEXT: It's certainly early and a long season is ahead, but outscoring Central Michigan does have some meaning for Ball State. Central was voted by the MAC's gymnastics coaches as the preseason favorite, and Ball State was voted fifth.
NEW FACES: Seven routines came from newcomers as Hannah Ruthberg and Victoria Henry each competed in three events. Ruthberg also was an exhibition on vault. Ruthberg turned in a 9.725 on floor and Henry scored 9.775 on both vault and bars.
"They did really well, a solid day. Hannah stayed focused where she was, which was exciting to see. It was exciting to see Victoria's competitive side. Both did really well. And Suki (Pfister's) vault was huge. She's ready for a the upgrade we've been working on in the gym. When we get that out on the competition floor everyone will be excited about that."
ON BALANCE: The head-to-head scoring was decided on beam and bars. The Cards had a 47.550 mark on beam as a team, highlighted by Hudson's 9.750 and a 9.700 from Alivia Ostendorf. CMU's beam score was 46.475 as four of their six beam entries fell off. The Cards were also 0.125 better than CMU on bars as four different routines from BSU scored 9.750 or better.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals have another home meet Sunday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. BSU will host Illinois State.
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