Cooke Selected To Compete On Floor At NCAA Gymnastics Regional

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Illinois State freshman gymnast Gabrielle Cooke will cap off a stellar debut season for the Redbirds at the NCAA South Central Regional, as she was selected to compete as an individual on the floor exercise April 1 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The freshman phenom earned her spot at the regional with a qualifying score of 9.860 and will be one of two individuals competing on the floor exercise looking to advance to the NCAA Championships.  

"We are so proud of Gabrielle Cooke for making to the South Central Regional at Arkansas," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "Gabi has a beautiful floor routine that should be right up there with some of the best in the country. I'm excited for her to experience this so early in her collegiate career, and I'm confident she will represent the Redbird Gymnastics team well."

Cooke is fresh off a great effort at the Midwest Independent Conference Championships, where she earned First-Team All-MIC honors on the floor and vault, with a conference title winning effort on the floor. The Chicago native topped the leaderboard with a career-high score of 9.925 on floor and finished second overall on the vault with a score of 9.850. She also earned Second-Team All-MIC plaudits, after finishing fourth in the all-around competition with a total of 38.875.  

She was named the Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Week (Feb. 7), after she recorded a second-place finish on the balance beam with a score of 9.750 to help her win the all-around competition with a career-high score of 38.950. Also, in just her second collegiate meet, Cooke won the all-around competition with a score of 38.800 against Bowling Green State (Jan. 21), aided by a score of 9.800 on the beam to finish in a tie for third place.

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