Senior Elise Wheeler finished with a season-best 39.425 on the all-around to lead the T-Bird gymnastics team to a 195.275-193.625 victory over Kent State inside the Centrum Arena Saturday night.
"Overall, the girls are fighting, they're doing a good job sticking together as a team, but we need to hit our routines," gymnastics head coach Scott Bauman said. "We would have scored close to a 196 if (we did) ... they can do that, if they put it together."
SUU finished with team scores higher than the Golden Flashes in three of the four events; vault, bars and beam, while finishing just .025 below Kent State on the floor exercise.
"I think (there's an advantage) being in your home arena and being on your own equipment and it's topped off with the home crowd," Wheeler said. "I think we have a wonder crowd, they're a very nice crowd to the other team, they're a polite crowd and they cheer for us ... it's just a great atmosphere to be in."
Wheeler won individual titles on the beam (9.850) and floor (9.900) and claimed shares in the individual vault (9.875) and uneven bars (9.800) titles to pace the T-Birds in the win.
SUU began the night on the vault and scored 48.875, while Kent State began with the uneven bars and scored 48.125.
Senior Melissa Johnson tied Wheeler with a 9.875 for the T-Birds on the vault, which was her fifth straight meet with at least a tie for first on the vault routine. Freshman Caitlin Kennedy scored a personal-best 9.800 to finish third for all SUU participants on the exercise.
The T-Birds then switched over to the uneven bars, where they once again scored 48.875.
Wheeler, senior Bailey Baker, freshman Alyssa Click and the Golden Flashes' freshman Lindsay Runyan all finished in a four-way tie for the individual title on bars with 9.800.
Baker and Click's scores were both personal-bests in the event.
SUU then moved onto the beam, where it picked up a 48.825 team score.
Wheeler led the charge with her 9.850, while Johnson and sophomore Brooke Cersosimo each scored 8.775 to round out the top three in the event.
The T-Birds finished the night on floor with a 48.700 — its lowest score of the four events.
Wheeler's 9.900 paced the field, while Click and junior Shannon Coughlin received 9.850. Click's score was a personal-best. Senior Lindsey Schultz scored a personal-best 9.825 in the event, to place fourth individually.
Schultz debuted a different routine than she had been using in the first four meets of the season.
"We felt like the routine that we choreographed and did everything for this year wasn't going as well as her old routine," Bauman said. "So, we went back to her old routine last week to change it up a little bit ... she did a phenomenal job."
SUU only counted one fall throughout the match, but suffered from falls on the vault, beam and floor.
"I thought we were a little flat all night long," Bauman said. "Particularly on vault and we had two of our floor workers fall."
However, the top scores of each event occurred after a fall was committed.
On the floor routine, freshman Michaela Churnoch scored a 8.975 after a fall. Churnoch was the first SUU athlete to compete on the routine for the night.
Click said that added concern for the rest of the team to hit their routines.
"There was a lot more pressure, but all we did was focus on hitting our routines," Click said. "When (Churnoch) fell ... I tried to cut that out and focus on what I needed to do. Michaela went up to me and was like, 'you can do this, you know how to do it' ."
Click then responded with her personal-best 9.850.
Wheeler said there is always pressure for gymnasts to hit their routines, whether there is a fall ahead of them in the lineup.
"If you're focusing on your work and you know what you can do, then you can put the pressure aside and focus on everything you're supposed to hit," she said. "It can add a little bit of added pressure, but it doesn't change your routine."
SUU won't return to competition until Monday when they travel to Utah State to take on the Aggies in Logan. Events will begin at 7 p.m. in Logan.
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