Jan. 2, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State gymnastics team will kick off its 2009 season at home against Southeast Missouri State Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009 at Horton Field House. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., and it will be the first competition of the season for both teams.
The Redbird gymnastics team finished last season with an overall record of 8-11, and a Midwest Independent Conference record of 2-7. Illinois State fell to SEMO last year by a score of 192.200- 194.050. Southeast Missouri State was 9-7 last season and placed second in the conference with a record of 7-3.
"I am excited for our first meet to be against Southeast Missouri State," said Conkling. "They are a very tough team. It will be nice to see where are skill level is at compared to them. I believe it is a good gauge to see how well we are going to do this year."
Twelve gymnasts return to the lineup this season for the Redbirds, including three seniors: Mary Hankosky, Meaghan Koshman, and London Walder. Hankosky, a co-captain, will lead the team this year on the uneven bars. The other two senior Redbirds, Koshman and Walder, are both returning from injuries.
"We are so happy to have Mary back in the bar lineup," said Conkling. "She is going to be a big contributor on the bars. Koshman is also back in three out of the four events. She is training really hard on vault, because that is where we absolutely need her."
In his fourth season, head coach Bob Conkling is looking for one thing: consistency. He feels that the difficulty in the Redbirds' routines is there, but he just wants them to perfect what they have.
"I think we are going be a lot more consistent this year," said Conkling. "The balance beam event is looking a lot better than it did last year, and I think that will carry over into the meets. Overall, I think our consistency will be much better this year."
The team has trained to keep consistency and perfection throughout all four events and with a tougher schedule ahead of them in 2009 Conkling believes as long as they stay injury free they should have a great season.
"If we can keep everyone healthy throughout the season, I don't think we will be weak at any one event," said Conkling. "We don't have a lot of depth on vault or bars yet, but we have people that can compete in those events. Right now beam is our strongest event."
