Excited to host its second home meet of the season, the Illinois State womens gymnastics team welcomes the Huskies of Northern Illinois to Horton Field House, Saturday, for the teams first meeting this season.
Scheduled to start at 7 p.m., the dual meet will be a chance for the Birds to showcase their talent in front of a home crowd.
After three straight meets on the road, Illinois State head coach Kristin Montero is looking forward to Saturdays home matchup, hoping her team will rise to the occasion.
I think the team is really looking forward to being at home this weekend, said Montero. We have been on the road for the last month, and it will be to out benefit to be in our own territory.
The in-state rivalry with Northern is something that I hope will drive the girls, getting them to perform even better than they have been, Montero continued. We need to make a statement at this home meet.
Illinois State is winless on the season, with a record of 0-7. The Redbirds have yet to face a conference opponent. The team is coming off a pair of losses in last weekends triangular meet where the Birds faced Ohio State and Illinois.
Northern Illinois has a 1-3 record, with a sole win over conference foe Western Michigan on January 25. The Huskies fell to Kent State, 196.600-195.100, last Saturday, January 31.
Montero is not worried about the teams winless record, saying it is still early in the season.
I believe it will be an interesting meet against Northern, Montero said. There will be a little extra interest in what the other team is doing and to see where each team stands, as it is still early in the season.
--30--
