Ball State gymnastics had a tight meet Feb. 9 against the Mid-American Conference (MAC) foe Central Michigan Chippewas at Worthen Arena. Central Michigan won with an overall score of 195.750 followed by the Cardinals with 195.575.
Coming off of being named MAC Athlete of the Week, sophomore Zoe Middleton received the highest score on floor with 9.900, being named MVP and tied all-around with Central Michigan’s Luciana Alvarado-Reid with a total of 39.275.
“I had so much confidence from that last week. I was just ready to have fun today, and I really trusted myself,” Middleton said.
Ball State graduate student Suki Pfister received the highest score on vault with 9.875, and Alvarado-Reid from Central Michigan received the highest score on uneven bars with 9.900 followed by sophomore Ashley Szymanski with 9.875.
Beginning with vault, the Cardinals ended their first rotation with 48.675 on the event. The Chippewas’s first rotation was uneven bars, scoring a total of 49.225.
Pfister’s routine held a pike half, her first time competing that move since coming back mid-October 2024.
After she stuck her landing, her teammates swarmed her, cheering like they do for every teammate.
“It just means a lot, knowing that they're cheering me on and wishing me the best, just supporting everyone,” Pfister said.
Going to the uneven bars for the second rotation, the Cardinals, decked in shimmering white, scored a total of 48.925. At vault, the Chippewas scored 48.725.
On the third rotation, the Cardinals scored 48.875 on the balance beam with Central Michigan scoring 48.925 on floor.
For the fourth rotation, Ball State scored 49.100 on floor, winning the event. The Chippewas scored 48.875 on the balance beam, tying with the Cardinals for the event.
Head coach Joanna Saleem said when it comes to improvement, it comes down to the little things.
“There's so much we're leaving on the floor in terms of points whenever you take a shuffle step, or if you don't quite hit a handstand, and those are easy things for us to fix in the gym,” she said. “It's just making sure that that comes out onto the competition floor.”
Along with focusing on the little things, Saleem continues to push her team to focus on the present and focus on themselves.
The Cardinals will be competing in Denver, Colorado Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. for the Denver Quad and will be back home at Worthen Arena March 2 at 1 p.m. against Northern Illinois.
Contact Ella Howell via email at ella.howell@bsu.edu. Contact Hannah Amos via email at hannah.amos@bsu.edu or on X @Hannah_Amos_394.
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