BGSU gymnastics (8-4,1-3) used its 49.225 floor total to boost itself to a 194.350-193.425 victory over Northern Illinois (2-5,0-4) Sunday afternoon. 

Heading into the dual meet at the Stroh Center, the Falcons and Huskies were both searching for their first Mid-American Conference win of the season. 

The Orange and Brown’s victory marks the program’s first MAC meet win since 2022, when they defeated both Ball State and Eastern Michigan. 

Bowling Green and Northern Illinois went into their final events being separated by less than .100, with the Huskies leading 145.2-145.125. 

The Falcons ended the competition on the floor, a spot where their head coach, Brittney Emmons, felt extremely confident in her squad. 

“We set out to have a goal of 49 as a team, because we know that that’s our strength right now,” Emmons said, “We know we have some great athletes that are capable of that. I looked at the floor squad and knew I could pull a name out of the hat. We can put any lineup out there.” 

The Falcons were nearly perfect during their floor routines, with all five counted scores being higher than 9.800.  

The highest score of the event and the entire meet came from sophomore Kayla Shaw when she landed a 9.900 during her floor routine. This was the first time Shaw competed on the floor exercise since the Western Michigan Quad-Meet. 

“Just getting back on the floor was fun, doing my normal, having fun, and actually enjoying it because that’s when I do my best,” Shaw said, “I’m really happy that I was able to do that today.” 

Bowling Green gets back into action at the Stroh Center on Feb. 22 against Central Michigan, with competition starting at 2:00 p.m.