The Eastern Michigan University gymnastics team earned its second victory in the Mid-American Conference Saturday after beating Bowling Green State University 189.550-187.750 at Warner Gymnasium.
The Eagles improve their record to 2-5 (2-2 MAC), while the Falcons are 1-5 (0-4 MAC). Coach Steve Wilce said he was glad to see his team finish the day with a victory.
“We won; anytime you win it feels good,” Wilce said. “I am pleased with our performance.”
Eastern Michigan breaks a five-game losing streak dating to Jan. 16, when it defeated Northern Illinois on the road to start off MAC-play on a winning note.
Since then, the Eagles have dropped their last two MAC meets and were unable to pull a victory out in the Redbird Quad.
Wilce saw his gymnasts hold their composure and said his team had came out to compete against BGSU.
“We are getting better,” Wilce said. “We did real well today. Our performance was better than the scores indicated.”
The meet started with the Falcons on the uneven parallel bars, while the Eagles took to the vault.
Senior Nikole Viltz led the Eagles by finishing first in the vault, posting a 9.725, and freshman Miranda Jarvis followed with a second-place finish, with a 9.675. Sophomore Kristina Kurkmilis earned a 9.600, taking third.
Freshman Ashley Quinton had a season-best 9.625 finishing, tied for first with two others from BGSU: Amber Brewer and EMU junior Stacie Wood.
A scary moment occurred during the Falcons’ run at the vault when one gymnast hit the back of her head on the top of the vault upon landing, taking the breath out of the gym as the spectators waited for some sign of movement and consciousness. After a minute or so laying down on the mat, she sat up slowly, in obvious pain.
Alice Perdoch, mother of senior Jessica Perdoch, saw the incident happen first-hand.
“As a mother of a gymnast, it gets you nervous,” Perdoch said. “She’s OK; she walked away so that’s good.”
Jessica Perdoch finished with a 9.400 on the parallel bars.
Sophomore Camille Cicchini had a scare of her own while she was in warm-ups for parallel bars. The end of her nose caught the bar, causing her to bleed enough to have another gymnast replace her in the lineup.
“Camille’s nose was bloodied pretty well,” Wilce said. “On the way by she hit it, I don’t believe she broke it.”
The Eagles shined on the floor exercise, having Viltz finishing first on the floor exercise as well posting a score of 9.675.
Junior Kristin Yourick finished second on floor exercise (9.600). Jarvis also did well, posting a score of 9.500 earning a fourth-place finish.
Freshman Shawna Ciaramella finished first on the balance beam with a career-high 9.450, while BGU claimed second and third; EMU’s Perdoch took the fourth spot with a career-high 9.350.
“They looked really good today,” Perdoch’s mother said. “Eastern seems to be improving every meet. EMU had falls on the beam, but so did BGU.”
Eastern Michigan has a bunch of injuries at the moment and Wilce is looking forward to having some of his gymnasts return this next week.
“Kaley Meyers is one week away from starting up again,” Wilce said. “We might redshirt her, she’s a good one. Tracie Tamashiro, a sophomore, sprained her elbow, so we are looking forward to having her coming around.”The Eagles continue competition next Saturday when they face the Air Force Academy.
The event starts at 1 p.m. at Warner Gymnasium. The Eagles’ next MAC meet will take place in Mount Pleasant against Central Michigan University’s Chippewas on Friday, Feb. 24.
