Ball State gymnastics opened up its 2018 season in Lexington Friday evening, as it took on home squad Kentucky, George Washington and Southeast Missouri in the Kentucky Quad Meet.
Last season, the Cardinals lost to the Wildcats 195.300-194.025 at Worthen Arena. Junior Kaitlyn Menzione scored a career high on the floor event with a score of 9.900 in the last meeting.
This season, however, Ball State opened the night on beam where freshman Vicky Garcia and senior Baylee Bell tied for third. Going into the final event, vault, the Cardinals saw themselves sitting in second place with a chance to secure.
Sophomore Maddie Macdonald tied for first place with a personal record of 9.850. With Menzione placing second with a score of 9.825 and senior Jordyn Penny placing fourth with a score of 9.800, the Cardinals locked up second place to upset George Washington.
George Washington finished last season as the 23rd best team in the nation and qualified for NCAA regionals as a team. The Cardinals also fell to the Colonials last season 196.400-194.175 at George Washington. With this win against the Colonials tonight, it won’t be long till the Cardinals will meet them again this season.
"Moving forward throughout the season, it is important that we aim to get better with each meet," head coach Joanna Saleem said in a press release. "George Washington is going to be competitive, especially in their home arena. We need to stay focused and do our gymnastics, striving to gain confidence and momentum each week."
Ball State will see George Washington again, along with Cornell and Pennsylvania, on Jan. 14 when they travel to Washington, D.C. The meet is slated to start at 1 p.m.
Contact Jack Williams with comments at jgwilliams@bsu.edu.
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