FAYETEVILLE, Ark.- The Illinois State women's gymnastics team took second placed as junior Amanda Mohler posted a career-best score of 9.850 to win the balance beam competition, in a tri-meet on Friday night against Arkansas and Southeast Missouri, inside Barnhill Arena.
Arkansas placed first as a team with a total score of 196.650. Illinois State totaled a season-high team score of 192.025 to place second, while Southeast Missouri came up short in third place with a team score of 191.150.
Head coach Bob Conkling was very pleased with his team throughout the entire meet.
"We definitely deserve the scores we got, and I could not be more proud of our team," Conkling said. "Each week we are continuing to grow and I feel this is a turning point for us."
During the first and third rotations, the Redbirds came up short in the uneven bars and floor competitions, despite sophomore Samantha Ward posted a score of 9.725 on the uneven bars and a 9.600 on the floor, respectively. ISU totaled a team score of 47.625 on the uneven bars and a team score of 47.525 on the floor.
"The uneven bars and floor competitions were good, not great," Conkling said. "There are some minor adjustments we need to fix in order to get the strength back, since those rotations represented our lowest team scores."
The Redbirds were impressive in their second rotation as Mohler posted a 9.850 to lead the Redbirds with a season-best team score of 48.700 in the balance beam competition.
"We showed confidence and force on the balance beam this meet," Conkling said. "This rotation proved to be what our team is capable of."
In ISU's final rotation, sophomore Kristyn Bossle posted a score of 9.825, placing third, to lead the Redbirds in a strong showing of 48.175 on the vault.
The Redbirds return home to host Air Force Academy, inside Horton Field House on Friday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
