Even though Ball State (1-4, 0-1 MAC) took first place in three events, Kent State’s (3-0, 2-0 MAC) final push in the floor exercise gave the Golden Flashes the 194.875-194.800 victory over the Cardinals.
“We had a couple solid performances, but went over to the floor and gave it away,” head coach Joanna Saleem said. “We faulted a little bit over there because that’s not the floor Ball State typically does.”
Ball State started the meet with a tie in the vault, as the Cardinals sophomore Suki Pfister and the Golden Flashes sophomore Kyndall Gilbert both scored a 9.900. Ball State sophomore Victoria Henry finished third with 9.875.
The two schools tied again in the uneven parallel bars, as Ball State junior Megan Teter and Kent State sophomore Sarah Haxton each scored 9.825. The Flashes took third place thanks to junior Karlie Franz receiving a score of 9.800.
Ball State got its only solo win of the afternoon in the balance beam, where junior Taylor Waldo picked up a score of 9.850. Sophomore Hannah Ruthberg tied for second with two other Golden Flashes with a score of 9.775.
The Cardinals lost their lead after the final event, the floor exercise. Kent State took both first and second, with Franz getting a score of 9.875, and junior Rachel Decavitch getting a 9.825. Waldo tied for third with Flashes freshman Cheyenne Pratola with a score of 9.775.
“It was a nice, solid day on three events,” Saleem said. “On the floor, that just wasn’t up to the standard of competing that we do in the practice gym.”
Ball State will return to action Friday, Jan. 28 when the Cardinals travel to Ypsilanti, Michigan to face Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, and Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Contact Nate Grubb with comments at nathaniel.grubb@bsu.edu or on Twitter @GrubbNate43