Trouble on the floor proved to be the difference for the Flashes’ gymnastics team during Friday’s quad meet at North Carolina State.

“It’s disappointing because we had such a good meet on the other events,” Head Coach Brice Biggin said.

The mistakes on floor, however, allowed No. 19 North Carolina State to edge out the Flashes 196.675-194.450 for first place.

Biggin said the gymnasts capable of performing well on floor were just not on. The low scores combined with a gymnast going out of bounds were to blame for the disappointing result.

“If you went out there and performed a good routine, the judges were willing to turn you a good score, and that’s how Marie Case was able to score the way she did.”

Sophomore Marie Case’s 9.875 earned top honors on the exercise and her fourth win on floor for the season. Biggin said Case came to the Flashes with great credentials on floor exercise and a competitive attitude that allows her to put up great scores.

“She came is as a national level 10 champion on floor,” Biggin said. “She has some great combinations of tumbling and she’s just a fierce competitor.”

Biggin said that competitive attitude has made her a role model for the younger gymnasts on how to compete in a college setting.

“She will make a mistake every once in a while, but instead of letting it effect her, she gets even more focused to make sure nothing else happens,” Biggin said. “That’s the kind of thing you want your younger athletes to model themselves after.”

A solid 9.800 on the balance beam helped case to finish the meet with a season-best 39.300. That score earned her second in the all-around competition.

Kent State showed its strength in the vault competition as all five of the Flashes’ scores were in the top eight. Freshman Amiah Mims and Whitnee Johnson posted team-best scores of 9.850 that earned them a tie for fourth place overall.

“The girls have done a great job over there of being consistent,” Biggin said “We certainly feel like it has the potential to be our best event if everyone competes to their potential.”

Biggin said despite the loss, the quad meet was a good experience for the younger gymnasts.

“It’s definitely a different atmosphere because there is so much going on at once,” Biggin said “But it’s good for giving the freshmen the experience of what they will see at the [Mid-American Conference] championships and then at regionals.”

As the Flashes prepare to head to Ohio State next weekend, Biggin said they will look for consistency.

“We just need to try to put it together a little more consistently on all four events, and I think we will see ourselves scoring very well,” Biggin said.

Contact Erica Mucci at [email protected].