The Illinois State gymnastics team gets one final tune-up for the conference championships at the State of Illinois Meet Saturday in Chicago at 7 p.m. This meet is the Redbirds final chance to prepare for the Midwest Independent Championships on March 25.
The Redbirds will be competing against three teams that they have already faced this season Illinois-Chicago, Illinois and Northern Illinois. ISU is 0-7 against those teams this year; but Illinois State will be looking to build on its scores from the past two meets, when the Redbirds turned in two of their highest team scores of the season.
Head coach Kristin Montero believes that familiarity with the other teams may help her team this weekend.
Having competed against these teams earlier in the season, we know what to expect from them, Montero said. Now its a matter of putting everything together, and showing these teams that we can compete better against them now than we did before.
Montero says her squad didnt do anything differently to prepare for this meet, their final competition before the conference championships.
At this point, its less physical and more mental, Montero said. Our girls just need to go in with a good mindset and some confidence about doing the routines that theyve done all year. We know they can do the routines. Now its just a matter of doing it.
