March 22, 2008
Final Stats
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
The Illinois State gymnastics team (8-7) struggled with mistakes throughout the State of Illinois Classic. The Redbirds finished fourth (191.950), while Illinois took first place (194.825) followed by Illinois-Chicago in second (194.550), and third place (193.725) went to Northern Illinois. The event was hosted by the Fighting Illini at Huff Hall.
Head coach Bob Conkling felt that the gymnasts did not compete as well as they could have.
"They were not as mentally tough as they should have been," said Conkling. "They did a good job on the beam in the first rotation and it was something to work with, but they were not able too. They are physically tough, but they need to be able to perform when it really counts."
Four of Illinois State's seven losses have come against NIU and UIC. Both teams have beaten the Redbirds twice this season.
Junior co-captain Meaghan Koshman led the way for the Redbirds on the vault routine with a score of 9.775. Freshman Hannah Deutsch scored a 9.700, which was good enough for second place for the Redbirds. As a team, the Redbirds finished with a score of 48.150 on the event.
In the overall vault event, Koshman tied for fourth place with Nicole Cowart and Allison Buckley, both of Illinois. DeAvera Todd, from NIU, took first place with a score of 9.850.
On the uneven bars, senior Cheryl Berezan performed the best routine for the Redbirds with a score of 9.750. Freshman Erica Schick took second with a tally of 9.700. ISU finished with a team score of 47.650, the third lowest team score of the season in the event.
ISU finished with its third-best balance beam score of the season with a mark of 48.150. Sophomore Jessica Prousa led the Redbirds in the event with a score of 9.800. Deutsch finished second for the Redbirds with a score of 9.750. In the overall event, Prousa finished in a four-way tie for third place. Prousa was the only Redbird to finish in the top-three in any event. First place went to Allison Buckley from Illinois with a score of 9.900.
On the floor routine, senior co-captain Amanda Candler and Deutsch were the top Redbirds, with a tied score of 9.750. Freshman Emily Matko finished a close second with a score of 9.700. In the overall competition, Candler and Deutsch were two of five gymnasts that were tied for 10th place. Allison Buckley from Illinois-Chicago won the event with a 9.875.
Illinois State will travel south for the Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Championships. The competition will be hosted by Centenary College in Shreveport, La. on Friday, March, 28. The five-team meet will begin at 6 p.m.
