East and Martucci Garner Gymnastics Weekly Awards
Gymnast of the Week
Jovannah East, Bowling Green, Sophomore
Jovannah East, a sophomore from Zion, Ill., had the best individual meet of her two-year career and led BGSU to a victory over Northern Illinois last Saturday. The team’s 196.475 is the second-best total in school history, and the Falcons finished the MAC season in second place with a 3-3 record. East won two events and the all-around competition, tying her personal best in a victory on floor (9.925). She also set a new personal record in the all-around, earning the third-best total in BGSU history (39.425). East won the vault outright with a 9.87t; she has won the vault eight times in 12 meets in 2018, including outright wins in all six MAC meets. In addition, she finished third (9.875) on beam and recorded a 9.750 on bars. Her efforts helped BGSU tie season-best team scores on vault (48.950) and beam (49.225) and set new season standards on bars (48.950) and floor (49.325). Her all-around score of 39.425 is the highest of the week in the MAC. For the season, East has recorded 18 wins and 30 top-three finishes. She owns nine scores of 9.9 or better, including at least one in six consecutive meets.
Vault: 9.875 / 1st
Bars: 9.750 / T-7th
Beam: 9.875 / 3rd
Floor: 9.925 / 1st
Specialist of the Week
Anna Martucci, Northern Illinois, Junior
NIU junior floor specialist shined once again on floor, earning a 9.900 on the event against the Falcons on Saturday. Her 9.900 marks her fourth this season.
Floor: 9.900 / 2nd
Gymnast Nominations
Kaitlyn Menzione, Ball State, Junior
Junior Kaitlyn Menzione saw action against Central Michigan after a serious injury. Menzione competed in three of the four events as one of the top scoring Cardinals in the lineups for Ball State. On bars she notched a 9.725 landing her in fifth place. She performed a solid 9.725 fifth place finish on beam. And Claimed second place on floor for her 9.850 floor routine.
Bars: 9.725 / 5th
Beam: 9.725 / 5th
Floor: 9.850 / 2nd
Denelle Pedrick, Central Michigan, Sophomore
In the final meet of the regular season, Denelle Pedrick, helped lead the Chippewas to win the title of MAC Regular Season Champions with a 196.175 to 195.125 over Ball State. The sophomore posted an overall 39.300 in the all-around. She kicked things off the vault with a 9.900 to help CMU post a 49.000 to tie the season high the event. Denelle followed up her vault performance by tying her career high on beam with a 9.850 to once again help CMU tie their season high on the event with a 49.025. Denelle was the lead off on the bars posting a 9.750. She concluded the meet with a 9.750 on the floor.
Vault: 9.900, / 1st
Bars: 9.775 / T-7th
Beam: 9.850 / 2nd
Floor: 9.775 / T-7th
Kendall Valentin, Eastern Michigan, Senior
Senior Kendall Valentin capped off her final regular season in spectacular fashion, assisting EMU to a 195.375-192.725 victory over Western Michigan, Friday, March 16, during Senior Night. The Holmdel, N.J. native started her day on vault, where she paced the Eagles with a score of 9.8, which also ranked second overall in the meet. In the second rotation, Valentin notched a meet-best score of 9.9 to win her first event title of the day. The senior ended her meet on beam, where she marked her second 9.9 of the evening to take her second event title. Additionally, her 9.9 on beam tied her career-best and served as a new season-high in the event.
Vault: 9.800 / 2nd
Bars: 9.900 / 1st
Beam: 9.900 / 1st
Katherine Prentice, Northern Illinois, Senior
NIU senior Katherine Prentice led the gymnastics team on Saturday with the program's highest balance beam score since 2009 when Jennifer Naughton earned the same score. Prentice was a huge impact for the Huskies against the Bowling Green Falcons as she took second place in the all-around competition with a 39.225 cumulative score. She completed the high-score with two 9.800 scores on vault and uneven parallel bars, and picked up a 9.700 on floor.
Vault: 9.800 / T-5th
Bars: 9.800 / T-3rd
Beam: 9.925 / 1st
Floor: 9.700 / 11th
Morgan Spence, Western Michigan, Freshman
Morgan Spence led the Western Michigan gymnastics team this past week in two meets for the Broncos as the freshman scored in the all- around against UIC and at Eastern Michigan, becoming the only Bronco gymnast to score in the all-around in all 11 meets. Against the Flames she finished with a 38.450 as her highest event came on the floor (9.850) with a career best to claim second place behind teammate Rachael Underwood. At EMU, Spence took second out of four in the all-around posting her second-highest score this season on a 38.825. Spence went four-for-four on Friday inside the Convocation Center and finished fourth on vault (9.725), fifth on bars (9.700), ninth on the beam (9.600) and fifth on the floor (9.800).
Vault: 9.750 / 7th, 9.725 / T-5th
Bars: 9.775 / 6th, 9.700 / T-5th
Beam: 9.075 / 12th, 9.600 / 9th
Floor: 9.850 / 2nd, 9.800 / 5th
Specialist Nominations
Baylee Bell, Ball State, Senior
Senior Cardinal Baylee Bell scored 9.800’s on both of her events against Central Michigan last Thursday. On beam Bell claimed fourth place and on floor she stood fifth respectfully.
Beam: 9.800 / 4th
Floor: 9.800 / 5th
Alexandra Fochler, Bowling Green, Freshman
Alex Fochler, a freshman from Cranberry Township, Pa., was BGSU’s top gymnast on the uneven bars last weekend in the regular season finale against Northern Illinois. She tied her personal record with a 9.875 and was one of only two competitors in the meet to exceed a 9.800. She placed second overall and earned her fourth career top-three result. Her effort helped the Falcons’ bars lineup amass a season-best 48.950. Bowling Green ended the meet with a cumulative 196.475, the second-best team total in school history. That allowed BGSU to defeat the Huskies and finish the regular season tied for second in the MAC with a 3-3 record. Fochler ranks in the top 25 of the MAC with a 9.770 RQS despite missing several meets with a hand injury.
Bars: 9.875 / 2nd
Mackenzie Parker, Central Michigan, Sophomore
In the final meet of the regular season, Mackenzie Parker, helped lead the Chippewas to win the title of MAC Regular Season Champions with a 196.175 to 195.125 over Ball State. The sophomore contributed on the floor with a career high 9.825 on the floor exercise. This marked the third time this season that Mackenzie has been in the floor lineup and in which she has posted a career best on the event.
Floor: 9.825 / 4th
Megan Marino, Eastern Michigan, Senior
Senior Megan Marino had an incredible performance in her last meet donning the Green and White inside the Convocation Center, as she was a vital piece in the team’s 195.375-192.725 victory over Western Michigan Friday, March 16, during Senior Night. Marino’s first routine of the evening came on beam, where she scored a 9.825 to place second overall, while helping the beam cohort to a season-high team score of 49.05. She then closed out her evening on floor, marking another 9.825 to once again place second overall in the meet. Both scores of 9.825 tied her career-bests in the events, with her floor performance also tying her season-high.
Beam: 9.825 / 2nd
Floor: 9.825 / T-2nd
Nasha Manitkul-Davis, Kent State, Freshman
Nasha Manitkul-Davis scored a personal-best 9.925 on floor exercise and helped Kent State capture first-place in a tri-meet against #18 George Washington and Temple to close out the regular season on Friday. Manitkul-Davis’ best floor routine of her collegiate career tied for first in a competitive field, as GW’s floor rotation ranks 13th in the country. She was also the Golden Flashes’ top performer on vault, scoring a 9.750 to tie for seventh.
Vault: 9.750 / T-7th
Floor: 9.925 / 1st
Sarah Shirley, Western Michigan, Freshman
In two meets last week, freshman Sarah Shirley averaged a 9.763 on the vault for the Western Michigan gymnastics team. She began the week tying a career-high 9.800 against UIC on Tuesday, March 13 before scoring a 9.725 at Eastern Michigan on Friday, Mach. 16. Both scores placed her in a tie for fifth amongst all gymnasts. Following the regular season, the freshman is tied for 18th in the league with freshman counterpart Stacie Harrison with an RQS of 9.770.
Vault: 9.800 / 5th, 9.725 / T-5th
