The Falcon gymnastics team was defeated this past weekend in the Mid-American Conference Championships this Saturday, placing third with a 194.625.

Kent State finished second with a 195.125 and Central Michigan placed first with a 196.475. Following with Northern Illinois, Ball State, Eastern and Western Michigan finishing in that order after BG.

Head coach Kerrie Turner said she was pleased with her team’s effort.

“We received a difficult rotation starting on floor and ending on beam … [but] this team stayed energetic and focused throughout the entire competition … [and] fought for every tenth and I can’t ask much more from them,” Turner said.

For the team, this is the best finish they have had in the MAC championship since the 1991 season when they finished third that year as well with a record of 8-6 overall and a 4-2 conference record.

Despite the loss, the team continues to improve to build a stronger program, Turner said.

“Our program made significant improvement this season,” Turner said. “Our strong finish is respectable and definitely speaks volumes about the hard work we have put in … the returning gymnasts will have a better understanding of the amount of work it takes to be a great program, and I am thankful for this team for making our program stronger.”

Along with the third place team finish, the Falcons had some individual success with Lauren Feely winning MAC freshman of the year. Amanda Lievendag won the individual MAC championship on vault and various top six finishes in several of the apparatuses for the gymnasts.

With the team season winding down, Turner said she was proud of what her team accomplished this season.

“What a great season it has been,” Turner said. “All of our stats have improved [and] this team has tried to learn from every experience and just get better … really, when our team was together in a focused but very energized environment, we did our best.”

For the Falcons, the team season is over but for some individuals it is not, as several BG gymnasts are expected to qualify for NCAA regionals and compete against the very best around the nation.

“I do expect we will have a large contingency qualifying as individual competitors to regionals and we look forward to preparing them to compete well at that event,” Turner said.

With little hope of a NCAA team birth, the Falcons will find out on Monday, March 24 what individual gymnasts will be representing the team in the regional qualifying round of the NCAA.

The NCAA regionals will take place in about two weeks on April 5.