March 11, 2017
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 24 Ohio State women’s gymnastics team earned a 195.350 to finish third at a Big Ten Five-Team meet Saturday afternoon at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. No. 13 Nebraska won the meet with a 196.650 while No. 19 Illinois tallied a 196.450 for a second-place finish. Michigan State earned a 194.650 and Maryland posted a 193.375 to round out the scoring.
With the third-place finish, the Buckeyes will compete in the evening session at the Big Ten Championships at 5 p.m. next Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.
“We are excited about competing in the evening session and the rotation is a great one for our team,” Carey Fagan, Ohio State head coach, said. “We will start on vault and finish on floor exercise. With this week being spring break, it will be a great opportunity for the team to be together in practice and make some good progress as we head into next weekend.”
The Buckeyes opened the meet with a 48.900 on floor exercise. Alexis Mattern earned a team-best 9.850 while Taylor Harrison and Stefanie Merkle posted a 9.825.
Ohio State then moved to vault, tallying a 49.050. Jamie Stone and Olivia Aepli led the Buckeyes and tied for the event title with a 9.850. Aepli’s score marked a career best.
Ohio State earned a 48.875 on uneven bars in the third rotation, paced by a 9.825 from Aepli and a 9.800 from Tenille Funches.
The Buckeyes then concluded the meet with a 48.475 on balance beam. Taylor Harrison posted a team-high 9.800 on the event.
Mattern tallied a 39.325 for the Buckeyes in the all-around.
