Cardinals and Eagles Pick Up MAC Victories
Friday's Results
Eastern Michigan 194.850, Western Michigan 193.725
Northern Illinois 194.725, Southeast Missouri 186.825
Ball State 194.075, Bowling Green 192.625, Lindenwood
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Eastern Michigan
Results
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team remained perfect at home behind its best performance of the season to come away with a win over Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan University Friday night, Feb. 8. The Eagles bested the Broncos, 194.850-193.725, to defeat Western for the fifth straight time.
"A lot of really good things happened today." said Head Coach Katie Minasola "I am proud our teams performance, but I know we have so much more to give. Emili had an outstanding day with a career-high on beam and tying her career-high on bars. Both Jada and Emili had great all-around scores. Bars has been the event we have had to put the most work into and it was our highest scoring event tonight. I am looking forward to seeing where we go as we build off this momentum."
The Eagles started the meet on vault with a four-way tie for first. Juniors Emili Dobronics (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) and Allie Smith (Telford, Pa.-Souderton), sophomore Jada Rondeau(Norwood Young America, Minn.-Central), and senior Megan Hultgren (Rockford, Ill. Sacred Heart Classical Center) all scored 9.725s to lead the way.
Shifting over to bars, sophomore Cortney Bezold (Maineville, Ohio.-Bishop Fenwick) notched a career-best 9.875, finishing first. Rondeau helped with a 9.825, while Hultgren scored a career-best 9.725, leading to EMU's total of 48.800.
On beam, The Eagles had three personal-bests. Dobronics took second place with 9.875, sophomore Bri Price (Kings Mountain, N.C.-Homeschool) added a 9.725, and freshman Charlotte Reynolds(Leominster, Mass.-Leominster) chipped in a 9.600.
Finishing on floor, Dobronics and Rondeau paced the Green and White, both scoring 9.850s and tying for first. Freshman Caitlin Satler (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) chipped in a 9.725.
For all-around, Dobronics and Rondeau both had personal-bests, with Dobronics taking first with 39.250 and Rondeau taking second with 39.200.
Eastern goes back on the road Friday, Feb. 15, to take on Central Michigan University for another MAC showdown. The meet is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Northern Illinois
Results
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Northern Illinois University women's gymnastics team earned its highest road score, and second best overall team total, of the season with a 194.725-186.850 victory over Southeast Missouri at Houck Field House Friday night.
Huskie gymnasts took first place and NIU outpaced the RedHawks in terms of team scores, in all four events.
"It was a super-solid day," said NIU Head Coach Sam Morreale, whose team won for the seventh time in its last eight competitions to improve to 9-3 on the season. "I was a little worried about being able to get that kind of score here. That was the hardest we ever worked to go 194.725. We didn't count any falls and were able to get our second-highest score of the season. Overall, I was pretty happy with what we did."
The Huskies opened the meet on uneven parallel bars, where Morgan Hooper Morgan Hooper (Lincoln, Neb./St. Pius X HS), Emily Basara Emily Basara (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township HS) and Amanda BartemioAmanda Bartemio (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) finished first, second and third, respectively. Hooper scored a 9.800 and as a team, the Huskies finished with a 48.675.
Cinny Lamberti (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake HS) paced the Huskies on vault with a winning score of 9.800. Nina Martucci Nina Martucci (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes HS) and Hooper tied for second as NIU took five of the top six places on the event and the team finished with vault score of 48.350.
The Huskies next went to floor, which has been the Huskies' highest scoring event of the season. Senior Ally Ferber Ally Ferber (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset HS) scored a career high 9.875 to tie for first place, with Allison Richardson Allison Richardson (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville HS) and Anna Martucci Anna Martucci(Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes HS) each checking in with a 9.800 as NIU totaled a 48.950 on floor.
Mia Lord Mia Lord (McCordsville, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern HS) led the pack on balance beam, the final event of the meet for NIU, with a score of 9.850 as five Huskies finished in the top six. NIU's beam team totaled a 48.750 for one of its best scores of the season on beam.
"Beam and floor are rolling at a good clip, just hitting and scoring really well," Morreale said.
The SEMO meet was the first of three straight road outings for the Huskies, who return to MAC competition at Ball State on Sunday, Feb. 17. Morreale said the Huskies feel comfortable on the road.
"We have a routine on the road that works really well," Morreale said. I think the team enjoys competing on the road, they get away together without some of the distractions. This group does a good job of stepping up on the road and it's good practice to be able to finish on beam."
The Huskies return home Friday, March 1 when they play host to Illinois State in a dual meet. NIU will also host the Mid-American Conference Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, March 23 in the NIU Convocation Center.
Ball State
Results
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - In any sport, conference road wins come at a premium. A solid performance from Ball State gymnastics Friday night at Bowling Green was the next step in the development of a young team coming into its own.
After posting a school record on vault in a win last Sunday, Ball State thrived on vault once again. The Cardinals scored 48.950 in the event and saw all six gymnasts in the event go 9.700 or better.
Overall, the top routine performances came at the end of the meet on vault, as freshmen Marissa Nychyk and Stefanie Schweikert tied for first place on vault at 9.825.
"It was awesome for Marissa and Stefanie to finish the meet like that," head coach Joanna Saleem said. "We have some improvements to make but I loved how we stayed with the meet. I see that we're getting more comfortable on the competition floor."
In the three-team event, Lindenwood was the top-scoring squad at 195.350. Ball State was in the middle with 194.075 and host Bowling Green was third at 192.625. Saleem lauded Lindenwood for "having a great meet."
Saleem said she was proud of the team's performance but said there are some things to work on and details to sharpen. In the end, a young team is getting better and more consistent while carving out an identity on the college level.
"We have some good things going on," the head coach said. "It's a good win. It's hard to beat Bowling Green so it's good to get another conference win."
