Feb. 1, 2009
Complete Results
BERKLEY, Calif. -
The Illinois State gymnastics team (3-6) performed its best floor and beam routines Sunday afternoon against the California Golden Bears and the Washington Huskies. The Redbirds came in second place with a total score of 191.350, while Washington took first by a score of 194.400 and California finished third with a total of 190.950.
Illinois State started off the competition strong with its best beam routine of the season. The team had a score of 48.450 and easily took the lead after the first round of events. Sophomore Hannah Deutsch tied for third-place with a score of 9.775. While junior Jessica Prousa and freshman Melissa Mann tied for fifth with a 9.700. California's Bridgette Glass took first-place on the beam with a 9.850.
The Redbirds continued to look strong on the floor routine where they tallied another team high of 49.675. Senior Meaghan Koshman placed fourth in the event with a 9.800 marking a season-best for the gymnast. Deutsch wasn't far behind Koshman placing in fifth-place with a 9.775. Ashley Houghting from Washington and Avery Gee from California took first and second place in the event with a 9.925 and a 9.850, respectively.
The `Birds ran into trouble on the vault. The only Redbird that placed in the top-10 in the event was sophomore Erica Schick who tied for sixth-place with a 9.575. Illinois State marked a team score of 47.375 their lowest vault score of the season. Washington dominated the event, placing gymnasts in the top-four spots.
ISU continued to struggle on the uneven bars where the Redbirds had a team total of 46.850 another low for the season. Junior Andrea Orris was the only Redbird to place in the event with a score of 9.625. Kristen Linton from Washington and Glass took first and second in the event.
Schick finished third in the all-around with a score of 38.250 while sophomore Robin Weissman took fifth with a 38.125. The winner of the all-around was Washington's Hatsune Akaogi with a 38.700.
Head coach Bob Conkling felt his team could have performed better but was very proud of how they stuck their floor and beam routines.
"I was a little frustrated throughout the meet, because after two events we were beating the other teams by a lot," said Conkling. "The girls did a fantastic job on their balance beam and floor routines. They just hit a rough spot on the vault and also had a few falls on the bars."
Illinois State will be back on the road Friday, February 6 when they take on the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse and Winona State at La-Crosse, Wis. The meet is set to begin at 6 p.m. CST.
