Motivation may be hard to come by, but when a team finds some, they are capable of doing great things. Case in point, the Ball State University gymnastics team found motivation in a wild moose and its calf, coach Lisa Simonton said, during the team's trip to Alaska over Spring break.
"We said we couldn't leave the state of Alaska without seeing a moose," Simonton said. "When we pulled into [the University of Alaska-Anchorage's] campus on Sunday, not 50 feet from the gym door was a momma moose and her baby. And it was our good luck sign. Whatever positive mojo we got from that, we used it."
It worked.
The team earned two wins, including a season high score of 192.750 on Sunday, which is the second time this season the Cardinals have broken the 190 point mark. Simonton said that the meet was successful because everyone hit their landings in all events.
Junior Erica Gilkerson said that everyone put in an extra effort on Sunday, including herself, as she earned a personal and season high score of 9.800 on vault.
"Winning both meets in Alaska really helped out, and it was our best score of the season," Gilkerson said. "It's encouraging to get a score like that, but we are excited to be back home and to have a home crowd cheering for us."
Today marks the end of the regular season for the Cardinals as they prepare to host Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan University.
The team credited its last home win to the intensity of the crowd, and Simonton said they are preparing a special recognition ceremony after the meet to honor the team's seniors and their families.
"We've been looking great in practice, and we're peaking at the right time of the season," Simonton said. "They've started to get internal and external blocks thinking about the seniors, but we need to let those distractions go and just think about gymnastics."
If you goBALL STATE VS. Western Michigan University
TIME7 p.m. today
VENUEIrving Gym
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