March 11, 2006
Results
YPSILANTI, Mich. -
Illinois State head coach Bob Conkling had a number of goals for his Redbird gymnastics team at the beginning of the season, one of which was to consistently score above 190. Proving that they are capable of such heights, the `Birds posted a 190.450 on Saturday en route to a second place finish at Eastern Michigan.
"I was happy that we scored above a 190 for the second consecutive week," said Conkling, of his team who posted a season-high score of 191.650 last weekend at Illinois-Chicago. "We had some really good individual scores but as a team it seemed like we couldn't pull it all together. I feel like we could have won this meet, instead of taking second by such a narrow margin."
Illinois State bested Rhode Island (190.425) but fell to host Eastern Michigan (190.775). The Redbird squad improves to 5-8 on the year.
Leading the `Birds were freshman Meghan Koshman, who placed first on the vault with a score 9.775. Senior co-captain Amy Biedenharn was just behind Koshman, tabbing a 9.725 for second place.
"Meghan has been so consistent on vault this year," said Conkling. "She has such a big vault and the judges like it so I hope she continues her success in the event. I also think that Amy taking second on vault was huge for the team because it is definitely the best vault she's had all year. It helped to bring everyone else up and give us some confidence."
The lone all-arounder for ISU was Cheryl Berezan, who carded a 38.000, taking fourth place overall. Berezan's top score was on the floor, 9.675, helping the Redbirds to their top event score of the night. Illinois State posted a 48.150 on the floor, led by junior Tove Fjordholm's 9.725. Koshman and Biedenharn also carded scores of 9.675 on the event
Illinois State was led by Amanda Candler on the uneven bars, as the sophomore turned in a 9.750, tying for first place. Whitney Albright finished second in the event with a 9.700. Albright went on to score a 9.650 on the balance beam for a second place finish. Megan Goetting (9.625), Biedenharn (9.600) and Berezan (9.575) finished in third, fourth and fifth places, respectively.
The Redbirds will return to action next weekend, hosting the Illinois State meet on Saturday, March 18, at 7 p.m. Illinois, Northern Illinois and Illinois-Chicago will visit Redbird Arena for the four-team meet.
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