Gymnast of the Week
Rachel Stypinski, Kent State, Senior
All-American Rachel Stypinski improved from the first meet of the season and earned a 39.425 to win the all-around title for the second time in as many weeks in Kent State’s 195.925-195.200 win over Northern Illinois. Stypinski picked up event wins on balance beam (9.925) and floor exercise (9.900) and tied for second in a competitive uneven bars competition (9.875). The senior is currently No. 9 nationally in the all-around, No. 3 on beam, No. 8 on floor and No. 15 on bars.
Vault: 9.725 / T-7th
Bars: 9.875 / T-2nd
Beam: 9.925 / 1st
Floor: 9.900 / 1st
Specialist of the Week
Amelia Mohler, Western Michigan, Sophomore
The Western Michigan gymnastics team delivered arguably one of its best meets in program history this early on in the season with a 195.425 at Central Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 20. The highest score on the day for the Brown and Gold belonged to sophomore Amelia Mohler, who finished with a career-best 9.900 on the uneven bars in her Bronco debut, good for a first place tie. As a team, WMU scored 48.825 overall on the event.
Bars: 9.900 / T-1st
Gymnast Nominations
Kaitlyn Menzione, Ball State, Junior
All-around gymnast Kaitlyn Menzione was one of the top scorers for three out of the four events. On Vault is notched a 9.700 landing her in thirteenth place overall. Menzione swung to a 9.725 routine placing tenth on bars. On beam she fought to stay on the apparatus managing a 9.575. During floor she danced and tumbled into the judges hearts placing eighth with a 9.775. Menzione stood fifth in the all-around competition with a 38.775 individual score.
Vault: 9.700 / 13th
Bars: 9.725 / 10th
Beam: 9.575 / 15th
Floor: 9.775 / 8th
Jovannah East, Bowling Green, Sophomore
Jovannah East, a sophomore from Zion, Ill., won two events and finished second in a third as BGSU Gymnastics improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the MAC with a 195.025-193.950 victory over Eastern Michigan on Friday (Jan. 19). East began the meet with her third consecutive 9.850 on vault. She has finished first on vault in all three meets this season and ranks second in the MAC, sixth in the region, and 27th nationally on that apparatus. Later, she tallied a season-best 9.825 for second place on the beam, then won the floor exercise as the anchor with a season-best 9.875. The latter pushed the Falcons to their first 49 in an event this year (49.050) and their first 195 of the year. East now has four wins and six top-twos in nine events this season. In her career, she has scored 9.800 or above in 35 of 41 events (.854).
Vault: 9.850 / 1st
Beam: 9.825 / 2nd
Floor: 9.875 / 1st
Katy Clements, Central Michigan, Senior
Senior, Katy Clements, continued to show her experience this past Saturday against Western Michigan. On the beam, she tied a career high, 9.925 to capture a first-place finish. Katy has finished first on the beam in every meet this year. This past week’s score tied for the fifth best score in Central Michigan’s record book and ranks third in the NCAA. She finished with a 9.875 on the floor to capture another first-place finish of the day. She also finished with a 9.775 to tie for fourth on the vault.
Vault: 9.775 / T-4th
Beam: 9.925 / 1st
Floor: 9.875 / 1st
Kendall Valentin, Eastern Michigan, Senior
Senior Kendall Valentin continued her impressive consistency so far this season in EMU’s loss to BGSU Friday, Jan. 19, in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Holmdel, N.J.-native scored within the top-three in all-but-one event she participated in, ultimately ending with a meet-high 38.975 all-around score. Her highest event score of the day came on vault, where she placed second in the meet with a 9.825, which also serves as her new season-high in the event. Valentin capped her day off with her second-best performance of the day, notching a 9.775 on beam for her second-best beam performance of the year. Additionally, the senior tied her second-best bars score in the 2018 campaign, hitting her routine for a 9.75.
Vault: 9.825 / 2nd
Bars: 9.750 / 3rd
Beam: 9.775 / 3rd
Floor: 9.625 / 10th
Ashley Potts, Northern Illinois, Senior
As the sole all-around competitor for the Huskies at Kent State on Friday, senior captain Ashley Potts' 9.825 on bars was just the beginning as she followed it up with a 9.850 on vault to take first place and tie her personal best. She then went on to earn a 9.700 on floor and finish on beam with a 9.650 to round out one of her top all-around scores with a 39.025.
Vault: 9.850 / 1st
Bars: 9.825 / T-5th
Beam: 9.650 / 9th
Floor: 9.700 / T-17th
Rachael Underwood, Western Michigan, Junior
The Western Michigan gymnastics team delivered arguably one of its best meets in program history this early on in the season with a 195.425 at Central Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 20. In the second meet of the season, junior Rachael Underwood led the Broncos in every event she participated in. Underwood’s 9.825 vault score placed her in second overall and helped WMU post its second highest vault score in program history (48.950). She followed that up by taking third on the floor with a 9.800 score and tied a personal best on the beam with a 9.875.
Vault: 9.825 / 2nd
Beam: 9.875 / 2nd
Floor: 9.800 / T-3rd
Specialist Nominations
Baylee Bell, Ball State, Senior
The Ball State Cardinals started on the beam where the team scored an overall score of 48.550, which marks the highest total this season. Senior, Baylee Bell led the beam team with a score of 9.850 placing third. Bell was composed and confident after a teammate before her stumbled through her routine. She was a definite leader throughout the meet showing the team that you can let go of past mistakes and do well on other events.
Beam: 9.850 / 3rd
Floor: 8.850 / 18th
India McPeak, Bowling Green, Senior
India McPeak, a senior from Bangor, N. Ireland, earned a victory and a third-place finish with two season-high scores on Friday (Jan. 19) against Eastern Michigan. Her effort helped lead BGSU Gymnastics to a 195.025-193.950 victory over the Eagles, which propelled the Falcons to a 3-0 record (1-0 MAC). McPeak won the balance beam competition with her first 9.850 of 2018. It was her second victory on the beam this season and her fourth overall as a Falcon. She followed that by posting a 9.800 during the floor exercise competition. That score earned a tie for third place and became her tenth career top-three result. BGSU ended the meet with a 49.050 on the floor and a 195.025 overall for the team’s first 49 and 195 of 2018.
Beam: 9.850 / 1st
Floor: 9.800 / T-3rd
Kennedy Rae Johnson, Central Michigan, Freshman
As a freshman, Kennedy Rae Johnson led the Chippewas and tied for a first-place finish on the uneven bars against in-state rival, Western Michigan this past Saturday. She finished with a career high 9.900 on her second ever start on the bars in her college career.
Vault: 9.250 /
Bars: 9.900 / 1st
Lacey Rubin, Eastern Michigan, R-Senior
Redshirt senior Lacey Rubin had a solid showing in an otherwise disappointing loss to BGSU, Friday, Jan. 19, in Bowling Green, Ohio. Rubin started her day on bars, capturing her second event title on bars this season with a mark of 9.775. Additionally, the redshirt senior notched a 9.625 on beam, assisting the team to its highest team score on beam this season.
Bars: 9.775 / 1st
Beam 9.625 / 9th
Dara Williams, Kent State, Junior
Dara Williams helped Kent State put up a huge score to defeat Northern Illinois, 195.925-195.200, in the conference opener for both teams. Williams earned a 9.800 in both of her events. She tied for second on vault and helped the Golden Flashes post a 49.225 in a strong uneven bars competition.
Vault: 9.800 / T-2nd
Bars: 9.800 / T-7th
