Directly following a 192.975-186.875 loss, Ball State University's gymnastics team and its coaches held a team meeting for an hour and 20 minutes.
The Cardinals (0-3, 0-2 Mid-American Conference) lost all four events in the competition to Kent State University Friday with the closest being the uneven parallel bars. Ball State scored 47.350 on the bars, a season high, to the Golden Flashes 48.125.
Leading the way on the bars was freshman Paige Oswalt. Oswalt scored a career-high, and highest for any Cardinal this season, with a 9.700.
"I just went out there and told myself I'm going to have fun and I did and it was an awesome bar routine," Oswalt said.
Ball State also scored 47.350 on the vault, which is a season high.
Coach Nadalie Walsh said she thought her team performed near perfection on the vault.
"They hit seven vaults in a row," she said. "Every girl that went hit their vault and that is huge."
On the final two events Ball State scored 45.600 on the beam and 46.575 on the floor.
The program is rebuilding and the team will struggle at times but the important thing is to always move forward, Walsh said.
"If they get down on themselves then it's going to be really hard but if they do what I feel they will do then they are going to just keep pushing forward to the next [competition]," Walsh said. "You can't build a kingdom in one day."
The first step in the healing process following this loss was the meeting following the competition. Walsh said it was important to talk to the team afterwards and get them to realize hard work pays off but not necessarily right away.
During the meeting the players also spoke up. The players were able to self reflect and admit to things they needed improvement on, Walsh said.
Oswalt said the team decided to make a change that will make them a different team the next time fans see them.
"We were discussing how we are afraid to let our good qualities go," she said. "We are just going to let all that go and show everybody the great team we are."
Some teams after a tough loss might let their frustrations turn inward on themselves or outward towards teammates but Walsh said that wasn't the case.
"That hour and 20 minutes after built more unity than anything else," she said. "... it's the first in getting them to record toward the light and not stay with the dark"
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