The San Jose State gymnastics team defeated Air Force 195.800-193.275  on Friday night at the Provident Credit Union Event Center. 

The Spartans defeated the Falcons for the second time this season. They last played on January 16, deating Air Force 195.250-194.150.

The Event Center filled with roars of applause as the Spartans won each event.

Junior Lauren Macpherson had a career-night as she tied for first in the bar, won the all-around event and tied SJSU beam record with a score of 9.925.

Macpherson said it feels good to have such achievements and she is grateful for her team.

“I just love this team,” Macpherson said. “They make it so easy to just do my thing and they have my back if I mess up and I have their back if they have anything too.”

The Spartans started out with a strong lead in the vault which they held onto throughout the meet.

Juniors Jaudai Lopes and Madison Kirsch tied for first place in the vault with scores of 9.850.

In the bar event, three Spartans took first place with seniors Alexa Solomon, Emma Milne and Macpherson recording a first-place score of 9.900.

SJSU head coach Joanne Bowers said the gymnasts carried themselves wonderfully to a well-deserved victory.

“Truthfully I thought we had some absolutely wonderful performances, great routines, some great scores,” Bowers said. “It was a very good meet for us.” 

Macpherson, who was named gymnast of the week on Feb. 7 by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, was the lone SJSU gymnast on the all-around score board.

The Feb. 10 gymnastics meet was the first in the history of SJSU and NBC Sports Bay Area to be broadcast on live TV.

Senior Jada Mazury said she was excited for what the broadcast could mean for the team going forward.

“That’s just so great for exposure for recruiting, for women and for our sport specifically,” Mazury said. “It was just awesome and we’re so lucky to have that opportunity.”

The meet was dedicated to SJSU faculty and staff recognition. Each of the athletes chose a faculty or staff member to escort them into the arena.

Mazury chose Heidi Livingston Eisips, an adjunct faculty member of SJSU’s College of Business, to accompany her to the meet.

“It was sort of just a fun way for us to bond with them more,” Mazury said. 

Mazury said she loved Eisip’s energetic nature in the classroom. She said it is important to recognize the work of faculty and staff. 

“For us it just means appreciating them and showing them that we do care about what they do for us and all the effort they put in for us every day,” Mazury said.

Mazury helped the Spartans achieve a clean sweep with her winning floor routine, for which she received a score of 9.925, resulting in first place.

Katherine Weyhmiller and Mazury fell while performing their routines on the bars. Both of them remained uninjured and went on to perform for the rest of the meet.

Bowers said this was very uncharacteristic for the team and not something that she is concerned about becoming a pattern.

After falling, each of the young women got up immediately and performed the remainder of their routines.

Bowers said the gymnasts’ actions after their falls are just as important as the falls themselves. 

“Everything’s not gonna be perfect all the time, so how are you gonna respond?” Bowers said.  “If we need you for the next event, you gotta be able to shake that off. Can you?”

Bowers said the two athletes recovered very skillfully.

“The way they bounce back to the next event, the way they finish, their energy and what they do, I’m so proud of this team,” Bowers said.

The Spartans are scheduled to face Sacramento State at 7 p.m. at Colberg Court in Sacramento, on Friday.