Towson (13-5) (5-2 in EAGL) won their hosted quad meet on Sunday afternoon. Illinois State (11-4) (2-0 in MIC) came in second, Bowling Green (2-6) (0-4 in MAC) came in third and William & Mary (2-8) finished last. The score was 195.575-194.675-191.575-190.650.
The win over William & Mary gave the Falcons their second win of the year. The Towson and Illinois State losses were the first non-conference losses for the Falcons.
Vault
The vault was one of three events that Illinois State won on Sunday. The Redbirds scored 49.050 with Alana Laster leading the event with a 9.925.
Towson finished second with 48.750. Bowling Green finished third with 48.450 and William & Mary finished last with 46.400.
Bowling Green’s top vaulter was once again Megan Bingham. The junior scored a 9.725. The score was a step down from her career-high 9.825 that she got last week against Ball State, but it was still good enough to place her seventh in the meet.
Uneven Bars
The uneven bars were demolished by Towson. The Tigers scored 49.225 with sophomore Chelsey Dennis leading the event with a 9.900.
William and Mary finished second with 48.275. The bars were the only event the Tribe didn’t finish in last place. Illinois State finished third with 47.250.
Although Illinois State won three out of the four events, the near two-point differential between the Redbirds and Tigers on the uneven bars was the difference maker in the meet.
The Orange & Brown’s struggles on the bars resurfaced on Sunday. They finished last with 46.450. Sophomore Keira Thornton led the Falcons with a 9.700, good enough for eighth place.
Bowling Green’s team uneven bars rank fourth out of five performances on the season.
Balance Beam
Illinois State scored 49.225 to win a severely close balance beam event. Redbirds’ sophomore Reese Grolla shattered the competition with a 9.925 to win the event.
Towson was close behind Illinois State with 48.900. Bowling Green finished third with 48.425. William & Mary finished last with 48.375.
Freshman Emily Gianfrancesco led Bowling Green on the beam with a 9.800. The score earned her fourth place and a new career-high, destroying her previous 9.650 that she set last week against Ball State.
Floor Exercise
Illinois State won the floor event with 49.150. The Redbirds’ senior floor duo of Alana Laster and Sara Wabi led the event, tying with a 9.875.
Towson came in second again with 48.700, Bowling Green came in third with 48.250 and William & Mary came in last with 47.600.
Senior Madison Coburn finished in sixth and led the Falcons on the floor with a 9.725.
Despite Coburn as a bright spot, Bowling Green had their worst team score on the floor all season.
Top Gymnasts
Bowling Green freshman Gianfrancesco’s 9.800 should give the Falcons optimism for the future of the balance beam event.
Illinois State senior Alana Laster won two events (vault and floor exercise) and finished with an all-around score of 38.500.
However, the biggest difference maker in the event was Towson’s uneven bar event winner, sophomore Chelsey Dennis. Her 9.900 put the meet out of reach for Illinois State, despite the Redbirds winning three events.
Overall Thoughts
The Towson quad was the Orange & Brown’s first quad meet of the year. Their record breakdown is now 0-3 for dual meets, 1-1 for tri-meets and 1-2 for quad meets.
Hopefully, the victory over William & Mary will give the Falcons more confidence and momentum going into next week’s contest against Western Michigan (3-6) (0-2 in MAC)—the two square off Feb. 16, at 2 pm in the Stroh Center.
