RESULTS
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Sophomore Meredith LaRoche won the all-round competition for the Illinois State gymnastics team Saturday night at the Ozone Collegiate Gymnastics Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the Redbirds won the four-team meet in their-season opener.
The Redbirds took the top spot in the meet with a score of 192.550, with Temple close behind in second place with a total of 192.225. Fellow Midwest Independent Conference foe Centenary was third with a score of 186.300 and Wisconsin-Eau Claire rounded out the four-team field in fourth with a 185.950.
Illinois State head coach Bob Conkling was pleased with the way his team bounced back from a tough first rotation to come away with the win.
"I'm thrilled with the way the team bounced back, after a rough start on the beam," Conkling said. "They pulled it back together and did awesome on the next three events. I think this win gives this team a lot of confidence moving forward. We have some work to do this week in practice, especially on beam, and look forward to having a solid meet on all four events next week."
LaRoche began the 2017 season much like she did last year, with a strong performance in the all-around competition. The Cocoa, Florida, native compiled a score of 38.925, thanks to a pair of first-place ties on individual events. LaRoche recorded a score of 9.750 on the floor and recorded a score of 9.700 on the beam to tie for the top spot in both events and rounded out a strong effort with a third-place finish on the bars with a 9.750. She also scored a 9.725 on the vault to finish in a tie for sixth place to round out the night's effort.
Freshman teammate Gabrielle Cooke started her career off strong, as she placed second overall in the all-around just behind LaRoche with a score of 38.300. The Chicago, Illinois, native had top-10 finishes on vault, bars and floor with a score of 9.725 on the floor, which was good for a tie for fifth place.
"Meredith was very strong on all of the events and I was pleased with her performance tonight," Conkling stated. "To have a rough start to her beam set and pull it back and finish strong really set the tone for the rest of the team. We have high hopes for Gabi as a freshman. We weren't sure how she would react to the pressure of being a collegiate gymnast. After a struggle on beam to start the meet, she went 3-for-3 on the final three events."
Other individual highlights included a first-place finish for freshman Anna Marema on the bars with a score of 9.800, with senior Samantha Ward right behind in second place with a 9.775 as the Redbirds finished 1-2-3 on the event. Junior Marie Priest also put together a couple of strong finishes, with a 9.725 to finish tied for eighth in the vault competition and a score of 9.700 to tie for seventh on the floor.
The Redbirds will return to action next Saturday, when they travel to take on Bowling Green State.
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