Denise Houda, Michelle Huston and Heather Mohler swept the top three spots in the individual all-around competition as the Redbirds set a new team scoring record in a 195.125-193.850 victory over Western Michigan in their season opener at Horton Fieldhouse.
Led by Houda, Huston and Mohlers outstanding individual performances, the Birds eclipsed the team scoring record of 194.85 set in 2000, against Northern Illinois.
Houda, a sophomore from Westbrook, Ill., tied for second on vault (9.775), took fourth on bars (9.675), tied for second on floor (9.825), and turned in a 9.925 on beam, garnering the highest score of the meet to win the all-around competition (AA). Houda's vault led her to a new personal best score.
Houston, a senior from Naperville, Ill., finished second in the AA after a tie for sixth place on vault (9.650), wins on bars (9.850) and floor (9.900), and a fifth place finish on beam (9.650).
Mohler, a sophomore from Wadsworth, Ohio, won vault (9.85), tied for ninth on bars (9.175), tied for sixth on floor (9.675), and tied for third on beam (9.85) to post the third highest score in the AA. Mohlers vault led her to a new personal best score.
Freshman event specialist, Lisa Klein made a stunning collegiate debut by posting second and third place finishes on beam and floor respectively.
Head Coach Jill Hollembeak took notice of Kleins performances today and called her style of gymnastics both athletic and aesthetic. She is confident. She is aggressive. She is beautiful.....She has that combination. She is artistic, yet she is very powerful and strong.
Many other Redbirds turned in strong performances. Senior Dana Luther scored a 9.725 on vault, Annie Chapman tied for third on bars (9.725), Jamie Reineck set a new personal best score on beam (9.85), and senior Marisa Niekamp placed fourth on floor (9.750).
The Redbird Gymnastics team goes on the road to face Southeast Missouri State on January 13th.
