Whitney Albright, Anne Fjordholm, Tov Fjordholm and Shannon Perry have signed national letters of intent to join the Redbirds gymnastics team and to continue their academic careers at Illinois State.
Whitney Albright, a native of New Albany, Ind., and a senior at Providence High School in Clarksville, Ind., is expected to contribute to the Birds in every event.
Whitney is packed with a tremendous amount of talent that will add to all of our lineups, commented head coach Beth Larson.
Albright began her gymnastics career at Southern Indiana Gymnastics School at the age of three and has worked her way up to level 10 gymnastics. She placed fourth in the all-around at level 10 regionals in 2001 to qualify for nationals. Albright plans to major in nursing.
With our previously set high academic standards, Whitney will be a true asset in the classroom as well as in the gym, Larson said.
A set of twins are among the Redbird recruits. Anne and Tov (toe-VAY) Fjordholm (fee-YORD-holm) of Plano, Texas, are expected to contribute academically as well as athletically to the team. Both girls have a 4.0 grade point average in high school and plan to major in business at Illinois State.
Anne and Tov compete for Texas Dreams Gymnastics under former Olympian Kim Zmeskal and come from a strong gymnastics background. Marie, the girls older sister, competes for the University of Georgia as a freshman.
After placing first on the beam at the 2002 level 10 regionals, Anne will add depth to this characteristically strong event for the Redbirds, while Tov, a level ten regional qualifer for the past three years, is expected to contribute her floor skills and compete in the all-around for the Redbirds.
We are very excited to have identical twins as a part of our program, said Larson. Both individuals bring endless amounts of enthusiasm and pride for Illinois State University. I expect both of them to make immediate impacts in the 2004 season.
The final recruit for the Redbirds 2004 season is Shannon Perry. A native of St. Charles, Mo., Perry competes for the same gymnastics club, GymQuarters, as current Redbird gymnasts Lisa Klein and Lauren Strnad and former gymnast Annie Chapman did.
It is great to continue the tradition of getting talented and team-oriented individuals from GymQuarters Gymnastics Club, Larson said. Shannon brings a higher level of difficulty that will ultimately strengthen the Redbird lineup as a whole.
A 2002 level 10 national qualifier, Perry brings strength in the vault, bars and all-around competitions. She placed sixth on the beam and seventh in the all-around at the 2000 Junior Olympic National Championships. Perry plans to pursue a sports psychology major at Illinois State.
