NORMAL, Ill. – After two meets on the road, the Illinois State women's gymnastics team hosted its home opener Friday night in a tri-meet with Lindenwood and Ball State inside Horton Field House.
Lindenwood took first with a score of 192.150, followed by Ball State in second (192.050) and the Redbirds finished third (190.800).
"I was really happy with our individual performances tonight," head coach Bob Conkling said. "The effort on vault and floor was really good, and Demi's beam was great as well."
Freshman Meredith LaRoche continued her strong start to her collegiate career by finishing second in the all-round with a score of 37.200. That performance was highlighted by a third-place effort on vault with a 9.750. Ahead of LaRoche, Sarah Fisher placed second in the event, earning herself a score of 9.775. Kristyn Bossle also had a strong showing with a 9.700 to finish in the top 10.
Amanda Mohler earned a score of 9.825 with her strong performance on the uneven bars to take first place in the event. Demi Pas was also an event winner, as her score of 9.750 on the beam was the highest of the night among the three teams.
The team is looking to continue their improvement, when it travels to face Ball State, Sunday Jan, 24. While individually the team is posting strong performances, Conkling hopes they are striving to amp up their team score collectively.
"As a team, we need to remember why we enjoy gymnastics and not worry about the outcome so much", Conkling said. "If we just relax, and have fun it will help take a lot of pressure off, and help with nerves."
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