The No. 22-ranked Illinois State gymnastics team will travel to No. 16 Iowa on Saturday to take on the Hawkeyes as the Redbirds begin the second half of their season and try for their fourth NCAA Regional Championships bid.
In order to make it to regionals the Redbirds must continue to score high at future meets because starting February 26th, a teams scoring average from their top six meets will determine its national ranking.
In order to qualify, the Redbirds will have to be ranked among the top 18 teams in the nation or be ranked among the top four or five teams in their region.
"Regionals is a team atmosphere," said senior captain Michelle Huston who went to regionals as an individual last year along with teammate Heather Mohler. "Our goal is to make it to regionals as a team so we can all experience it together."
Redbird coach Jill Hollembeak equates a team effort with individuals reaching their full potential. "I think that we have to continue to be consistent and hopefully post a high score to make it to regionals, said head coach Jill Hollembeak. "In order to score high, everyone need to do their job and that is to be consistent on every event."
Huston and sophomores Denise Houda and Mohler have been competing all-around for the entire season and have been receiving consistent support from the teams event specialists.
Iowa has steadily climbed the national ranks and at No. 16, they will be the Birds toughest opponents thus far. Iowas scoring average is 194.607, compared to that of the Birds (194.245).
The 2001 Redbird gymnastics team has already experienced success in terms of individual achievements and team records. Every competing member of the team has posted personal-best scores on each event and the team scoring record has been broken on the balance beam, uneven bars, and floor exercise. The overall team record has been broken twice this season and now stands at 196.000.
