Denise Houda, an Illinois State gymnast, tied the Redbird school balance beam record when she earned a score of 9.95 and led the Redbirds to topping the Illinois State team beam record at the State of Illinois Classic on Sunday, March 23.
Houda, a native of West Dundee, Ill., and a graduate of H.D. Jacobs High School, tied current Redbird gymnasts Heather Mohler and Lisa Klein for the record. Mohler established the record on March 11, 2001 against Centenary, and Klein added her name to the record books when she posted a 9.95 at Southeast Missouri State on January 19, 2003. As a team, the Redbirds smashed their previous balance beam record of 49.300, set on January 7, 2001 against Western Michigan, when they tallied 49.450 at the state meet.
Throughout Denises career, she has become a bigger contributor to the team through her gymnastics, academics and leadership, head coach Beth Larson said. She is by far one of our strongest competitiors, because she brings such a competitive drive.
Houdas beam record was the icing on the cake of her comeback from a foot injury suffered earlier this year. Prior to the injury, Houda began the season by winning three consecutive all-around titles and scoring a career-best all-around score against Illinois when she posted a 39.300. On March 17, Houda marked her return to the all-around lineup with a first-place win against SEMO behind a total score of 39.200.
The biggest thing we felt when we were missing Denise from the lineup was that one of our most consistent performers was gone, Larson commented. We lost confidence because we were missing the consistency of her performances, and that trickled down through the lineup, affecting the whole team.
Having Denise back definitely gives us an edge, because we know well finish off with a strong performance from her, Larson continued. Having an almost-guaranteed high score in the lineup helps our other scores and makes our competition results much higher.
Houda is an Illinois State senior majoring in physical education.
