March 7, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State gymnastics team (7-1) will be back on the road Saturday as it travels to Ypsilanti, Mich., to compete in the Eagle Invitational. The competition will be a four-team meet. The other three teams that will make-up the field are Eastern Michigan (5-3), Northern Illinois (5-1) and Air Force (1-12). The competition is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. CST (1:00 p.m. EST) in the Bowen Field House.
Head coach Bob Conkling feels that his team is ready to compete Saturday.
"The girls are very excited," said Conkling. "Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois are teams that are ranked ahead of us in the regional qualifying race. We are excited to be able to compete against them, and I think we have a good chance to win."
The Redbirds competed against Midwest Independent Conference rival Southeast Missouri State Sunday, March 2 and improved their record to 7-1. Several Redbird gymnasts set career-bests at the home competition.
On the vault, the freshmen trio of Erica Schick, Hannah Deutsch and Robin Weissman tied for second-place in the event with a 9.750, a career-best for all-three gymnasts.
The gymnasts' momentum continued over to the uneven bars where the `Birds took home the top-three positions. Senior Cheryl Berezan finished third in the event, while tying a career-best of 9.650.
The beam was the only event the Redbirds struggled on against SEMO. The only Redbird to finish in the top-three was Deutsch. She won the event with a 9.750.
Coach Conkling believes the gymnasts' beam practices this week will pay off at the invitational.
"Practices went really well and everyone is stepping up as best as they can," said Conkling. "They know what they need to do to keep their consistency. Their beam routines are looking good and I think they are ready to compete."
The Redbirds recorded their best floor routines of the season, scoring a total of 49.125. Co-captains Amanda Candler and Meaghan Koshman tied for first in the event, while scoring a 9.850, a career-best for both gymnasts. Second place was a tie between freshman Emily Matko and Deutsch. Both gymnasts scored a 9.825, another career-best for both gymnasts.
Saturday's meet will be the first quad-meet of the season for the Redbirds.
