LaRoche Shines In Five-Team Gymnastics Meet at Lindenwood

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – For the second-straight weekend, Illinois State freshman gymnast Meredith LaRoche shined for the Redbirds as they competed in a five-team meet hosted by Lindenwood Friday night at Hyland Arena.

Oregon State took home the team title with a top score of 196.350, followed by Lindenwood in second with a final tally of 195.325. Bridgeport was third (194.150), followed by the Redbirds (190.125) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire (188.925).

"We scored better overall tonight than we did in our first meet of the season," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "Meredith continued to improve tonight and tied for first on the floor, which was well deserved, and fourth in the all-around.  Getting Kristyn (Bossle) back on the vault helped out a lot as well, but we had a bad rotation on the beam and that really cost us.  We need to continue to be confident in our routines and bring the same intensity we have in practice to the meets moving forward."

LaRoche, who competed in the second meet of her collegiate career, improved on her marks from the season-opener last weekend.  She placed fourth in the all-around with a total score of 38.100 to set a new career-best.  That was highlighted by a 9.900 on the floor exercise, which tied her for first place.

The Redbirds had their best rotation of the night on the floor, with LaRoche leading the way and Danci Cha finishing in a tie for third place with a 9.875.  Marie Priest added a 9.775 and Sarah Fisher and Samantha Ward chipped in scores of 9.600 each.

ISU was also solid on the vault with a team score of 48.375, led by a 9.825 from LaRoche for a fifth-place finish.  Fisher chipped in with a 9.800 to finish in eighth place overall and Bossle added a 9.725 to provide a boost.  On bars, Ward led the way with a 9.775, followed closely by Fisher with a 9.725. The beam was a struggle for the Redbirds, with Cha leading the way with a 9.500.  

Illinois State will host its first home meet of the season next Friday, Jan. 22, inside Horton Field House.  The Redbirds will matchup with Lindenwood again and host Ball State as well in the tri-meet.

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