Illinois State's gymnastics team met tough competition in the dual meet at Missouri, and was unable to come out on top, falling to both Ball State and Southeast Missouri State.
The Redbirds fell short in all four events, despite a strong showing by ISU's Denise Houda, who claimed second place on the balance beam with a score of 9.725.
Ball State ended the night with a score of 194.375, Southeast Missouri State claimed 192.850, and Illinois State put up 190.875.
Head coach Beth Larson hopes that after a two week break from competition, the team was able to get all the jitters out and get back into competition mode for Saturday's quadrangular meet.
The 'Birds will compete in a quadrangular meet against host school, No. 19 Missouri, No. 14 Denver, and Utah State in the Corvette Cup Invitational on Saturday.
