A season of highs and lows concluded Saturday as the Ball State University gymnastics team placed fourth out of seven schools in the Mid-American Conference Championships.
"Honestly, it was such a surreal feeling," coach Lisa Simonton said. "It was so amazing. We had no misses, no falls and no mistakes. It was the most amazing meet of my coaching career."
Ball State (4-12, 1-7 MAC) earned its highest total of the season with a score of 193.4 and was the third time they scored more than 190.
Statistically throughout the season, the balance beam had been the event to give the Cardinals the most trouble. However, the six Cardinals competing didn't score lower than 9.55. Laura Shockey, Alex Tuthill, Kelly Watson and Lauren West all scored a 9.7 with their routines, tying them for 13th place.
The team used the momentum to carry them throughout the meet, and the Cardinals' two shining stars were the graduating seniors, Simonton said.
Jenna Tarkington took advantage of her last meet to place first out of 42 competitors on the vault with a score of 9.825. The score was the second time this season she hit the mark. Her best vault this season was a 9.85 against Bowling Green Feb. 3.
"Jenna was perfect on vault," Simonton said. "There were no questions asked. She stuck the landing and had no movement. It was amazing."
Tarkington's career-high on vault was a 9.95 in the MAC Championships March 19, 2004. In her career, she has earned 1083.65 points for Ball State, and this was her second individual MAC title on vault.
Watson, the other graduating senior, finished the meet with a career-high all-around score of 38.900 and finished second overall. Individually, she placed in a five-way tie for fifth on the uneven parallel bars with a 9.75, a two-way tie for 10th on the floor exercise, in the four way tie for 13th on beam and a two-way tie for 15th on vault.
"Kelly, my other super-senior stud, was outstanding," Simonton said. "On bars, she never had a 10.0 start because she would hold back. But I told her to just trust, go for it and it was now or never. She did and it was just a gorgeous routine."
Watson has earned 1,330.95 points in her four-year career and has been competing in all four events the last two years. The only time she has taken a break from the all-around competition was for three meets earlier this season.
Host team Eastern Michigan University won the MAC tile with a score of 194.525. Kent State University and Central Michigan University placed second and third, while Northern Illinois University, Western Michigan University and Bowling Green State University rounded out the rest of the field.
"There was a 1.125 difference between first and fourth, but I don't care about the placement," Simonton said. "I know the feeling I have from this team competing as a whole. I told them to just remember this feeling and savor it."
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