Ohio State junior gymnast Jamie Stone performs on vault against Denver on Feb. 24. Credit: Megan Russell | Lantern reporter

The Ohio State women’s gymnastics team posted a 195.525 to earn fifth place in the Big Ten championship Saturday evening at Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Along with the Buckeyes in the premiere session, No. 9 Michigan took the title with a 197.300, No. 20 Illinois took second with a 196.875, followed by No. 16 Iowa taking the third slot scoring a 196.725 and No. 13 Nebraska pulling a 196.475 to finish fourth.

The OSU team saw a familiar rotation order in their championship lineup, starting on vault to post a 48.975 for the event. Junior Alexis Mattern tied her career-best of 9.900 to take second place overall in the competition. Freshman Olivia Aepli also earned a career-high while scoring a 9.850.

The Buckeyes then moved to uneven bars where they totaled another 48.975. The team was led by junior Kaitlyn Hofland who took fifth place overall with a 9.875 score, followed by Mattern who posted a 9.825.

In the third rotation on balance beam, OSU tallied a 48.575 with both junior Stefanie Merkle and sophomore Jamie Stone notching a 9.775 for the team-high scores.

In the fourth and final rotation on floor exercise, the Buckeyes finished strong to earn an event high-score of the night of 49.000. The OSU team was led by freshman Amanda Huang who marked a 9.850. Junior Taylor Harrison, Merkle and Stone all posted a 9.800.

Mattern pulled a 39.025 to take 12th in the all-around.

Hofland was named Second-Team All-Big Ten member, while Mattern was named a First-Team All-Big Ten member.
The Buckeyes wait for their NCAA selection on Monday, and will be competing next in the NCAA Regional Tournament on Saturday, Apr 1.