The Bowling Green State University gymnastics teams has already produced a litany of accomplishments

this season.

The Falcons started off the season with victory over Big Ten opponent Michigan State, their first win against the Spartans since 1984. Last week, the Falcons were ranked inside Gym Info’s Top 20, a feat they hadn’t achieved in more than a decade. BG entered this week with a 3-1 record, a first since 2008.

Most teams would be pleased with such a strong start to the season, however, this Falcons squad isn’t

most teams.

The Falcons were dropped from Gym Info’s Top 20 following their second-place finish at the Ozone Collegiate Classic last Saturday.

“We started the meet really well,” head coach Kerri Turner said. “We went to floor and performed well there. Our performances on the vault were a little shaky but not too bad. It was really in the second-half of the meet when things kind of unraveled. They got a little rattled and made some

uncharacteristic mistakes.”

Junior Caroline Ellingboe admitted that the team was off their “A-game” and appeared uptight through the competition.

“I think we just go a little bit ahead of ourselves,” Ellingboe said. “It was the first travel meet of the season and we have a lot of new faces on the team this year, so it was a major adjustment. Traveling to a new state and competing on different equipment definitely factored into

our struggles.”

Senior Gina Locigno stated that she was proud of the resiliency the team displayed, despite their lackluster

performance.

“As a team I think we showed immense character,” Locigno said. “We did struggle a lot, but we preserved and tried to come back multiple times. I was happy that we were able to stay mentally tough and focused, especially when things weren’t going

our way.”

The Falcons open Mid-American Conference competition, this Saturday, against Eastern Michigan. Ellingboe believes the team has a chip on its shoulder as they prepare for their showdown with a much-improved

Eagles squad.

“We are using last week’s performance as motivation,” Ellingboe said. “We never want to experience that again this season, so we definitely have a fire under our belt. We are ready to go out there and attack Eastern.”

If that’s any indication, these women are prepared to make a statement.