East Excels on Beam as Falcons Open 2017 Season

Saturday, January 7

University Park, Pa.

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

190.725

194.625

Penn State

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

January 07, 2017 | Gymnastics

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communicationis Assistant

FINAL RESULTS (.pdf)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Jovannah East won the co-championship in the balance beam as the Bowling Green State University gymnastics team opened the 2017 season in a quad meet at Penn State University. In addition to the #23 Nittany Lions, the Falcons also competed against #36 Brigham Young and Temple. The team placed fourth in the final standings.

The Falcons opened the meet on uneven bars and struggled to find solid footing. The team's competitors suffered multiple falls, which hurt the team score. Senior Rachel Reis led the Falcon effort with a 9.750, while Laura Mitchell provided a 9.600. However, the team could only manage a 46.225 for the event.

"Today was a rough start for our team. However, we did see some bright spots, and we will need to build on them. I expect we will see a large improvement in the next week. We certainly will not let this meet define us," said BGSU head coach Kerrie Turner.

BGSU rotated next to the balance beam, and the team's promise began to shine through. India McPeak, the Falcons' transfer from the University of Michigan, debuted with a 9.800. Mitchell (9.700) and Victoria Heath (9.750) added solid routines, but Bowling Green's star of the night was Jovannah East. East's first routine as a Falcon resulted in a 9.825, and nobody else who competed on the beam could surpass it. Only Penn State's Brianna Tsang was able to match the score.

"Jovannah clearly is a tough competitor, and it really showed on both of her events. Her beam routine is packed full of difficulty, and she really competed with composure and confidence. She is truly going to make a huge impact on our scores this season," said Turner.

Following their 48.325 on beam, the Falcons moved to the floor exercise. Heath posted BGSU's best mark in that event by scoring 9.750. Kayla Rose began her 2017 season with a routine that earned a 9.725. Overall, BGSU secured a 47.575 in the third rotation.

The final event of the night for Bowling Green was the vault. The Falcons tied BYU for second place in the event with a 48.600 and finished just behind Penn State (48.650). Senior Lauren Feely finished second overall on vault with a 9.825, while East added to her great night with a 9.775, which was tied for third. Heath, McPeak and Lauren De Meno all posted 9.600 or better to help BGSU achieve their best event score of the meet.

The Falcons finished the quad with a 190.725. Penn State won the event by scoring 194.625, and BYU placed second overall (194.225). Temple earned a 191.925 for third place.

Bowling Green resumes their season on Friday, Jan. 13 with a tri-meet at Utah State that will include North Carolina State. Following the western trip, the Falcons will make their season debut at Anderson Arena on Saturday, Jan. 21 in a dual against Illinois State. That event is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.