NORMAL, Ill. – Redbird Arena and the Illinois State gymnastics team hosted one of the best teams in the country Wednesday night, as the Redbirds hosted No. 9 Kentucky in a dual meet in front of over 400 fans. The Wildcats won the meet by a score of 196.025 to 193.100 for the Redbirds.
"Attitude is everything, and we didn't have a great attitude as a team on Sunday in Chicago," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "We made an adjustment Monday in practice, and it showed with the way the team performed tonight against a very good Kentucky squad. Having this meet at Redbird Arena and competing against the No. 9 team in the country gave our team a little more energy tonight."
Illinois State was led by sophomore Gabrielle Cooke, who finished second to Kentucky's Alex Hyland in the all-around with a total of 38.900, aided by strong performances on vault and floor.Â
The Redbirds had a strong effort on vault to start the meet, posting a 48.350. Cooke led the way with a 9.825 to tie for first overall, while Savannah Remkus finished with a 9.725 in seventh place. ISU followed that up with a 48.300 on bars, with Anna Merema leading the way with a 9.725 and Katherine Locher coming in with a 9.700 to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.
ISU headed to beam and posted a 48.325, led by Kylie Meyer with a 9.750 and Alyssa Wiggle with a 9.725 in fourth and fifth places. The Redbirds then wrapped up the meet on floor, with Cooke posting her second score of the night over 9.800 with a 9.825 to finish in a tie for fourth place.
"They should be full of confidence after their performance tonight heading into the conference meet next weekend," Conkling stated. "We will give them some rest here heading into the weekend, and then start to work on details to polish up before competing for a conference championship at Lindenwood."
The Midwest Independent Conference Championship will be hosted by Lindenwood on Friday, March 23, beginning at 6 p.m. in St. Charles, Missouri. Links for live video and live stats for the meet will be made available on GoRedbirds.com, and live coverage will be made available via the @RedbirdGYM Twitter feed and Redbird Gymnastics Facebook page.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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