With a first-place win in its first meet of a three-meet road trip under its belt, the Illinois State gymnastics team hopes to carry that success into its matchup with Minnesota, North Carolina and host North Carolina State at the Wolfpack Invitational on Friday at 6 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C.
The Redbirds, 5-4, expect to face challenges in Raleigh as Minnesota holds a No. 23 national ranking and North Carolina State ranks No. 26 in the latest GymInfo National Womens Gymnastics poll. Illinois State possesses a No. 38 ranking.
Were really excited to be going to a brand-new place with three brand-new teams, head coach Beth Larson commented. Itll be a great opportunity to compete with a lot of top-ranked teams and be able to show some new faces what Illinois State gymnastics is about.
Lineups will be altered for the second week with all-arounder Denise Houda continuing to rest an injured foot. Heather Mohler, who took second in the all-around competition at Ball State, will be competing in the all-around for the Redbirds again, and Houda will only compete on the uneven bars.
