NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State junior Amanda Mohler won a pair of events, while junior Sarah Fisher took first in the floor competition, but the Redbirds could not overcome Mid-American Conference foe Ball State and fell by a score of 194.475-193.975 in a dual meet Monday night inside Horton Field House.
Head coach Bob Conkling likes the continued improvement from his team over its past few meets.
"As a team we did not count a fall again this meet, which is really great," Conkling said. "The team is continuing to look strong in all four events."
The competition began strong, as ISU took the lead after the first rotation with a team score of 48.150 on the vault, while BSU came up close with a 48.125 on the uneven bars. Sophomore Kristyn Bossle led the Redbirds with a score of 9.750.
"Vault has been the same the entire year," Conkling said. "Heading into the conference championships, it was great that we had four women add a more difficult vault to this competition."
During the second rotation, the Cardinals cut into the deficit with a score of 48.800 on the vault. Denasiha Christian and Kayla Beckler led BSU with individual scores of 9.800, respectively. Mohler won the event with her score of 9.850 and sophomore Samantha Ward followed with a score of 9.800, contributing to a team score of 48.700 on the uneven bars.
BSU took the lead with a team score of 48.900 on the floor, while ISU fell short with a team score of 48.575 on the balance beam during the third rotation. Mohler carried the team with a score of 9.825 to take the top spot in the event and was followed by freshman Marie Priest with a score of 9.725 in the event.
The Redbirds remained strong in their final rotation with a team score of 48.500 on the floor and were led by Fisher, who contributed a score of 9.850 to win the floor competition. The Cardinals finished the meet on the balance beam with a team score of 48.650, to win the meet.
Seniors Riley Childress, Sami King, Kristen Lieberman and Heather Pena were honored and recognized after the meet for their success in the gym, the classroom and the community following their last home meet of the season. The Redbirds return to action Saturday, March 7, at 6 p.m. in DeKalb, Ill., to compete in their final meet of the season against Northern Illinois, UIC and Illinois at the Illinois Classic.
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