What a difference four years can make.
Bowling Green’s gymnastics team has seen the worst of times over its past four seasons — now it is
seeking to experience the best of times.
The Falcons were 0-6 in Mid-American Conference meets in 2011, and three years later they are one of the
top contenders for the MAC championship at 4-2.
Eastern Michigan will host the championship meet Saturday at 2 p.m.
“We have decided to win. … It’s a decision,” said senior Megan Harrington, who was a second-team
All-MAC selection for the second straight year. “You decide you’re going to win. You’re not going to
walk in there saying ‘maybe we’re going to win, maybe we’re going to hit our routines.’ You have to
decide to do it. And we have decided to win this weekend.”
That kind of confidence is not just a senior without a MAC title just spouting off on a rant. That kind
of confidence has been instilled into the team throughout the year.
Head coach Kerrie Turner has turned a group that won just one meet in 2011 into a group that is vying for
its first MAC title since 1985.
BG has not finished better than fifth at the MAC championships since 2009.
“It’s taken a lot of patience,” Turner said. “But when you know you’re rebuilding something you need to
get some recruiting classes in that really don’t know anything different than you’re giving them. And
you need to believe that every time you get closer, they’re learning something.
“We’re going to learn what it’s like to lose, and that’s just a horrible feeling, you kind of want the
season to be over,” she said. “Then you start to taste a little success and then you build on that. You
have to keep them mindful. … If you keep them mindful of each meet and how it feels after each meet
… then they start to grab on to wanting to win more, and that’s what this group has done every year.”

The Falcons have improved on their 0-6 MAC record in 2011 to 1-5 in 2012 and 3-3 last year.
BG had combined for just eight total wins from 2011-13.
“Over these past four years it’s improved so incredibly much, and this season was by far the best season
that we’ve had since I’ve been on the team,” Harrington said.
“We have so many girls on this team this year that are doing so well,” she continued. “It’s so
competitive to even get into a lineup spot, which is really great. When you have people pushing to get
in lineups, it’s pushing the top of those lineups to get better and better. It’s really just pushing
each other to get better and I think that’s what’s really helped us all improve.”
As the improvement in the team has become apparent, so has the improvement of the schedule.
This season BG faced four ranked teams as part of its nonconference schedule, dropping all four meets. BG
also lost to No. 19 Central Michigan, which was ranked No. 18 at the time.
The Falcons are 7-9 in the regular season and have lost six of their last eight matchups, including four
straight.
BG’s most recent losses came last weekend in a triangular meet in Los Angeles finishing in third behind
No. 7 UCLA and Utah State.
But the struggles have not deterred the Falcons.
With the help of first-team All-MAC selection Alyssa Nocella and second-team All-MAC pick Lauren Feely,
BG heads into the weekend more confident that ever.
“We didn’t have a great meet last weekend at UCLA. I actually needed an hour to myself before I could
talk to the team, I was so upset,” Turner said. “Then we had a team meeting. I said, ‘There are teams
that are going to go in and try to win, but we have to go in and decide to win.’ They had to decide at
every practice this week that that’s exactly what they wanted to do. The energy level has been
completely different because they did make that decision. They did say, ‘We’re winning,’ and you have to
have that mentality going in.”