Falcons Flock to Utah for Friday Tri-Meet

BOWLING GREEN (0-3) at UTAH STATE (1-1)
w/ #16 NORTH CAROLINA STATE (0-1)
Fri., Jan. 13, 2017 | 9:00 p.m. ET | Logan, Utah | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270)
Game Notes: BGSU | Utah State | N.C. State
Live Stats | Live Video
Road To Nationals

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MARCH 18, 2017 -- STROH CENTER
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COACH'S THOUGHTS
"After a disappointing start, I have seen a change in our approach to practice this week. I do not feel like our first meet was a reflection of the team we truly are, and we have spent a great deal of time discussing how to enter this meet with a different mindset. My expectation is a focused effort and aggressive routines on Friday night, resulting in a much improved team score. We have spent considerable time on pressure sets on every event, and I see a difference in the team's ability to come together and fight for success."

"I do not expect many lineup changes this week. We have struggled with injuries and are working athletes back into action as they are ready. We hope to upgrade Jovannah East's vault this Friday to a yurchenko 1.5 twist. She may also be ready for the floor lineup this week. In addition, Randi Morris is coming back on several events and may be ready to compete on vault, bars, and floor this weekend. Lauren Feely is also looking strong on balance beam, and I expect that she will work her way back on that event along with bars and vault. Our lineup looks strong with an opportunity to score well this weekend."

-- BGSU Gymnastics Head Coach Kerrie Turner

FRIDAY NIGHT FIREWORKS
The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team continues the 2017 season with a trip to Logan, Utah for a tri-meet against the Utah State Aggies and No. 16 North Carolina State Wolfpack. The meet will be held at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and will begin at 7:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. ET) on Friday, Jan. 13. USU is currently ranked 45th nationally.

EXPECTED LINEUP
The lineup anticipated for BGSU on Friday night is as follows:

VAULT:    McPeak, DeMeno, Worthington, Heath, Feely, East, Morris (ex.)
BARS:     Johnston, Augustine, DeMeno, Feely, Mitchell, Reis, Morris (ex.)
BEAM:    Feely, Worthington, Heath, East, McPeak, Mitchell, Johnston (ex.)
FLOOR:    Creagh, Morris, McPeak, Heath, Rose, East

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
BGSU seeks their first wins against the Aggies and Wolfpack on Friday. All four of the Falcons' all-time meetings against the two schools have occurred during the Kerrie Turner era. The Falcons dropped decisions to North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C. in 2008 (195.075-190.950) and 2011 (195.675-193.300), as well as a neutral site match in Chapel Hill, N.C. last season (194.900-194.800). BGSU's only meeting with Utah State took place during a tri-meet in Los Angeles, Calif. with UCLA in 2014. The Aggies won, 196.000-194.175.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Utah State began the 2017 season in Tucson, Ariz. on Friday, Jan. 6 with a tri-meet against Arizona and Texas Woman's University. The Aggies split the meet by finishing with a final score of 191.600, ahead of TWU's 189.500. Sophomore Madison Ward registered USU's highest individual mark of the meet, as she won the floor exercise with a 9.825. Freshman Elle Golison added a 9.775 on the floor, while senior Keri Peel posted a 9.750 on bars. Head coach Nadalie Walsh (20-48) is in her fourth season in Logan.

North Carolina State lost at home to No. 5 Florida in their season opener on Sunday, Jan. 8 by a final of 197.100-194.925. The Wolfpack's top event score was a 48.950 on vault. Junior Chelsea Knight and sophomore Paris Phillips tied for second with a 9.850 in the floor exercise, and both earned over 39.000 in the all-around. Knight added a 9.900 on the beam. Head coach Mark Stevenson (551-327-4) is in his 37th season in Raleigh and is the only head coach in NCSU gymnastics history.

LAST TIME OUT
Bowling Green finished fourth in their season-opening quad meet on Saturday, Jan. 7 at No. 23 Penn State. The Falcons (190.725) finished behind the victorious Nittany Lions (194.625), as well as No. 36 Brigham Young (194.225) and Temple (191.925). Freshman Jovannah East was co-champion on the balance beam and finished third on vault. Lauren Feely placed second on vault, while junior transfer India McPeak placed third on beam.

SENIOR STYLE
Lauren Feely leapt into her senior season with another outstanding performance on vault. Her 9.825 earned second place at Penn State, and it marks the 20th time in her career that she has met or exceeded that mark in that event. Overall, she has scored 9.825 or better 31 times. Meanwhile, fellow seniors Victoria Heah and Rachel Reis combined for three routines that each earned 9.750 (bars, beam, floor).

GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION
Freshman Jovannah East needed just one meet to establish herself as one of BGSU's top performers. In her first college routine, she earned a 9.825 on the balance beam, ultimately winning the co-championship in the event at Penn State. Later, she posted a 9.775 to take third place on vault..

THE MCPEAK OF SUCCESS
Junior India McPeak, who tranferred to BGSU from the University of Michigan, began her Falcon career with a 9.800 on the balance beam. It was one of three 9.800-or-better scores for the Falcons at Penn State and helped her acheive third place on beam in her collegiate debut.

ELITE SCHEDULING
The Falcons' strength of schedule is ranked 29th nationally headed into the 2017 season. The rating is tabulated by reverse-assigning points to each team based on their final 2016 ranking. BGSU's opponents combined to provide 646 points for an average of 49.69. Ten of Bowling Green's 16 opponents are ranked in the 2017 preseason coaches' poll; that includes seven of the team's ten non-conference opponents.

ROUTINE GREATNESS
Bowling Green produced three of the school's top ten all-time team scores in 2016. In a meet against Ohio State and West Virginia, the Falcons posted a 195.725, a mark only eclipsed five times in school history. On Senior Night against Northern Illinois, BGSU shattered the school record with a 196.500. Only once previously in team history had the Falcons broken the 196 barrier. Finally, at the MAC Championships, BGSU scored a 195.625. It was the best team score ever for the Falcons at the MACs and was the tenth-best in team history.

MAKING HISTORY NOW
The Falcons qualified as a team for the NCAA Regionals in 2016. It was the team's first trip to the NCAA postseason in 25 years and the seventh in school history. Bowling Green finished the event with an overall mark of 193.850, the best-ever team score at the event for BGSU. The Falcons also have regional appearances in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1991.

WE'VE GOT THAT CHAMPIONSHIP FEEL-Y
Senior Lauren Feely will go down as one of the best gymnasts in BGSU history. She owns a place on BGSU's all-time top-ten individual score lists for vault, floor exercise and all-around competition. She is also just the fifth athlete in team history to win multiple MAC championships and the first since Marny Oestreng (1999-2002). She took the vault championship in 2015, then last season, won the all-around championship with a 39.300. Feely is a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2016.

PUTTING THE STUDENT IN STUDENT-ATHLETE
Falcon gymnasts value excellence in the classroom just as much as they do in the gym. Last July, BGSU was recognized as having the 19th-best team GPA nationally (3.5312) and nine Falcons were named NACGC/W Scholastic All-America. Five members of the team were recognized as Academic All-MAC following the 2016 season, and Lauren Feely earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors. In 2016's fall semester, the team GPA rose to 3.677 and nine Falcons carried 4.0 averages.

NEW FACES, HIGHER STAKES
The 2017 Falcons feature an exciting class of newcomers that could make an immediate impact for BGSU and push the returning athletes to new heights. The roster will include six freshmen (Lexi Augustine, Jovannah East, Alex Johnston, Randi Morris, Shannon St. Jean and Taylor Worthington), as well as India McPeak, who is a junior transfer from the University of Michigan.

PRESEASON POLL
The Falcons were picked to finish tied for third in the Mid-American Conference in 2017 as voted on by the league's head coaches. Kent State was selected to win the conference, while Central Michigan was chosen to place second. Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green followed, with Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Ball State rounding out the conference. In a show of the parity within the conference, each team received one first-place vote in the poll.

GYMNASTICS ADDITIONS
BGSU and head coach Kerrie Turner announced the signings of four student-athletes for the 2018 season in November. The additions are Whitney Cronin (High Point, N.C.), Alexandra Fochler (Cranberry Township, Pa.), Nacaida Kearns (Waterford, Ohio) and Samantha Marion (Franklin Lakes, N.J.).

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Fans can follow the BGSU Gymnastics team on Twitter @FalconGymn for in-meet updates, news and notes. Links to live stats, video (as available) and away-meet live stats can be found at BGSUFalcons.com. For home meets, fans can follow live stats by downloading the app, "Beyond The Scores," on your smartphone or tablet. Create an account, add "Bowling Green State Gym Team" to your favorites, select the meet, and enjoy an interactive scoring system.

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