Jan. 8, 2011
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State gymnastics team, led by senior Erica Schick, started its season off well with a win over Midwest Independent Conference rival Southeast Missouri State Saturday night at Horton Field House.
The Redbirds defeated the Redhawks by a final total of 191.500-190.275. ISU started the meet off with high scores on the vault, giving them the early advantage over SEMO, 48.125-46.325. ISU's scores fell during the uneven bar and balance beam rotations, but it finished strong with another win on the floor exercise, 48.100-47.450, to secure the victory.
Illinois State head coach Bob Conkling was happy to start the year off with a win and still has high expectations for the season.
"It's not just the coaches that have high expectations for this year, but the student-athletes as well," Conkling said. "They want to be in the top 36 in the country and I believe they are totally capable of doing that."
Schick combined a second place performance with a score of 9.725 on the floor exercise and a fifth place finish on the vault with a total of 9.600, to take top all-around honors with an overall score of 38.325. Sophomore Kim Genereux took second place in the all-around competition with a score of 37.550.
"I thought Erica looked really good tonight and so did Kim," Conkling said. "It's hard competing in every single event and I thought both of them did fantastic tonight."
The vault proved to a strong area for the Redbirds with sophomore Tori Sarantakis taking first place with a score of 9.725 and freshman Jenna Bossle rounding out the top three with a score of 9.650. Senior Hannah Deutsch, who qualified for the NCAA Regionals last season on the beam, placed second in the event with a score of 9.800 and also place third on the floor exercise with a score of 9.700.
ISU returns to action Friday, Jan. 14, when they take the road to face off against Seattle Pacific and will face Washington the following day on the West Coast trip.
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