Before Saturday’s meet, assistant coach Craig Ballard stressed execution and poise to his team.
The Falcons saw a glimpse of both as they finished with a season-high score and recorded six top-three finishes before a home crowd at Anderson Arena.
Despite recording their top score of the season-which was nearly a point higher than their previous best-the Mid-American Conference pre-season favorite Kent State won, 194.550-192.600.
“We had to make the team understand that no matter what we did, Kent State was going to hit and we had to prepare for them to hit,” Ballard said. “We had to be at our best to make [a win] happen.”
The Falcons started the meet off on the vault and continued to have success on the rotation as they recorded two top-three finishes. Freshmen Andrea Kinzer led BG to a second place finish with a score of 9.775 and junior Breanne Guy finished third, scoring a 9.750.
Next in the rotation, the Falcons headed to the uneven bars. Despite the two falls they had, the team still posted two top-three finishes. Kasey Fillmore and Amber Brewer both scored a 9.775, tying for second place.
The balance beam has been by far BG’s toughest event this season, but that was not the case Saturday. The lineup stepped up and scored a 48.450, their highest scoring event of the afternoon and a season high as a team.
Guy posted a career high 9.825, tying for a first place finish. Right behind her were Fillmore, with a 9.750 and Megan Chronister who also scored a season high 9.725 and finished in fifth place.
Finishing out the meet, BG went to the floor where they improved their overall score with a 47.925. Fillmore led the way, scoring a 9.675, and behind her were Jenna Wirtanen and Guy with scores of 9.650 and 9.600, respectively.
With their season high score, Ballard thinks the team took steps last week.
“Our practice and preparation is pretty good,” Ballard said. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure put on them in practice as far as if things count or don’t count, and if they stay on their feet as opposed to sticking something-we’re really going to put the emphasis on it.”
The Falcons will continue their homestand as Western Michigan travels to Anderson Arena on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
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Contact sports reporter Chris Sojka at [email protected].
