Jan. 14, 2011
SEATTLE, Wash. -
The Illinois State gymnastics team proved to be strong on the road Friday night as they defeated Seattle Pacific, 189.600-186.200.
The Redbirds led the Falcons the entire meet, winning every event with the exception of the floor exercise. Sophomore Tori Sarantakis led the Redbirds with a first place score on the vault (9.775) followed closely by senior Hannah Deutsch, sophomore Kim Genereux, and freshman Jenna Bossle who all tied for second place with a score of 9.600.
Head coach Bob Conkling was happy about the victory and a few strong performances.
"We did pretty good on the vault and had good performances on the beam," Conkling said. "Kim had a really good meet and Jenna made improvements from her first meet."
Senior Erica Schick was victorious on the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.775. Deutsch topped all Redbirds with a second place performance of 9.725 on the balance beam and junior Melissa Mann rounded out the top three with a score of 9.700. Sophomore Apollonia Barrientos tied for second place on the floor exercise with a score of 9.625.
Although the team ended up on top at the end of the night, Conkling feels there is still much work to be done.
"We had way too many mistakes on all of the events," Conkling said. "They need to step it up and prepare better for tomorrow night."
The Redbirds will continue competition on the West Coast Saturday, Jan. 15 at 9 p.m. CT when they take on Washington, Boise State and Seattle Pacific.
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