Down 1.075 points going into the floor exercise of Friday's meet, the Ball State University gymnastics team prepared to mount a comeback in front of more than 700 fans.
Scores of 9.675 from junior Erica Gilkerson, 9.625 from senior Jenna Tarkington and 9.500 from senior Kelly Watson were not enough, as Western Michigan University increased its lead to win the meet Friday by a final score of 191.775 to Ball State's 189.900.
"It wasn't a great meet, but it wasn't terrible for us either," coach Lisa Simonton said. "My seniors were both super sharp in the meet and they are great leaders. Kelly [Watson] hit on all four of her events and Jenna [Tarkington] hit on her two. I couldn't have asked for more from my graduating seniors."
The two seniors combined for more than 25 percent of the team's final score earning a combined score of 57.650. Watson ended the meet placing third in the uneven parallel bars, sixth on the vault and seventh in the floor exercise and balance beam. Tarkington ended with a second place on the vault with a 9.700 and tied for fifth with a 9.625 on the floor exercise.
"Jenna had the routine of her life, yet she only went 9.625," Simonton said. "But the scoring was out of our hands. It was what it was."
Ball State started the meet strong on the uneven parallel bars with freshman Bibiana Rodriguez-Lockwood earning a career-high 9.800. Teammates Kristin Sprague, who also earned a career-high score with a 9.725, and Watson rounded out the top three as the Cardinals earned the event sweep.
Not to be outdone, Western Michigan took the top five spots on the balance beam with scores ranging from 9.725 to 9.625. Ball State's Brittany George earned sixth place in the event with a score of 9.575.
After the meet, the gymnastics team honored Watson and Tarkington and also had a video slideshow of pictures taken during the season to share with the audience.
"We've had great support from the students, parents and family members," Simonton said. "But this team is fired-up [for the Mid-American Conference Championships]. We're a better team than what we did [Friday]. They know that and I know that."
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