CHICAGO, Ill.Junior Jaime Reineck of the Illinois State gymnastics team finished 3rd in the all-around competition (39.075) as the No. 25-ranked Redbirds fell to Illinois-Chicago and Ball State on Friday night in a 193.775-195.400195.475 decision in Chicago in which Ball State came out on top.
Despite a team loss, Reineck, from Rochelle, Ill., was a bright spot in Fridays meet. Having not competed in the all-around since her freshmen year at ISU, she came through in a big way for the Birds as their leading all-around scorer.
Posting a 9.550 during the first rotation on vault, Reineck carried her momentum into the second rotation, and scored a personal best of 9.85 on bars, just missing the school record by five-hundreths of a point. Despite struggling on beam in the Birds last two meets, Reineck achieved a career-best mark of 9.9 on Friday, just missing the school record by twenty-five hundreths of a point. Reineck finished off her meet with a 9.775 on floor exercise.
Head coach Jill Hollembeak had mixed emotions following Fridays meet. "It was a tough meet," Hollembeak said. "We hit everything tonight except for beam - we struggled on beamIve always said that beam is a make it or break it event."
Hollembeak went on to explain that the teams normal lineup was hindered by sporadic injuries. One of which being senior captain Michelle Huston. Huston will sit out from two competitions this weekend with a minor shoulder injury. Huston, who is the schools current record holder on floor exercise, has competed in the AA for the Birds in every meet but one.
Heather Mohler of Wadsworth, Ohio, finished 4th in the AA with a 9.7 on vault, 9.775 on bars, 9.675 on beam, and 9.7 on floor exercise. Mohlers AA total was 38.850.
Denise Houda, a sophomore from West Dundee, Ill., finished 6th in the AA with scores of 9.55(vault), 9.75(bars), 9.25(beam), and 9.75(floor). Houdas AA total was 38.300.
Sophomore Kristy Kreinbrink also made her first-ever AA appearance for Illinois State on Friday night. Finishing 7th, Kreinbrink posted her highest score of the night on bars (9.85) and followed up with strong marks of 9.75 on floor and 9.65 on vault.
Illinois State will travel to Louisiana for a 1 p.m. meet against Centenary on Sunday. Centenary will be competing fresh off of a low-scoring win against Winona State University (189.125-188.275) on Friday. While Centenary has failed to score 190 points in a single meet this season, Illinois State has averaged nearly 195 points per meet.
Results, following Sundays meet in Louisiana, can be found online at www.redbirds.org.
