The Cardinals come home without a win in the individual competition of the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regionals.
The Cardinals fell to the Fighting Illini 195.825-195.775 in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regionals Championships and ended the season ranked No. 34 nationally. Despite Ball State’s loss, five Cardinals will compete in the individual matchup April 4.
The Cardinals are proud of the team they’ve cultivated throughout the 2023-24 season.
Despite the loss, Ball State had many highs at the MAC Championship, including winning a handful of individual awards, as senior Suki Pfister was named MAC Specialist of the Year for the third season. Sophomore Zoe Middleton left with four awards: first for beam, first on floor, third on vault and first for all-around with 39.525 total points. Head coach Joanna Saleem won MAC Coach of the Year.
Ball State led the meet for the first two rotations, but Eastern Michigan came back during the third event, leaving a .050 point difference between the teams’ scores. The Ball State gymnasts brought their ‘A’ game on the floor and ended the meet 196.400-195.150, bringing them 14-4 overall.
In their second-to-last regular season meet, Ball State defeated Northern Illinois on the road.
The Cardinals improved to 11-2 after defeating George Washingon University 197.425-196.250. Ball State (No. 24) will be visiting University Park, Pennsylvania, next when the Cardinals compete in the Penn State Quad Meet against Penn State (No. 22), Towson (No. 39) and West Virginia (No. 51) at 6 p.m. Friday, March 1.
Black Lives in Music found that white artists in the UK average about $300 more than Black creators, and 43% of Black female creators said they feel they need to change their appearance because of their race. Black artists reported being called “aggressive,” “too outspoken” and “ungrateful,” among other labels. A USC Annenberg study of 70 major music companies revealed that 4.2% of them were Black.
Despite Ball State gymnasts having the highest scores in three out of four events, it was not enough to beat the fellow Mid-American Conference (MAC) school in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The two teams fought back and forth for the win, but ultimately, the Broncos prevailed by .075 points. The Cardinals lost 195.950-196.025.
Sasha Donati was going to leave Muncie a year ago. She was not feeling herself. She was in a dark place, and she did not feel like Muncie understood her.
