Redbird Gymnasts Place Second In Season-Opening Meet At Air Force

USAF Academy, Colo. – After a long offseason of training and preparation, the Illinois State gymnastics team officially opened the 2016 season with a second-place finish in a tri-meet at the Air Force's Academy's Cadet West Gym on Saturday.

Seattle Pacific took the top spot with a team score of 188.750, followed by the Redbirds in second with a score of 188.275.  The hosts finished third with a final score of 186.950.

"We are a stronger team than we gave tonight," Illinois State head coach Bob Conkling said. "Ultimately, I was most worried about vault and that ended up being our highest-scoring event. We need to work on being more mentally tough on beam, and will just have to get back to it when we get back in the gym, practicing and critiquing."

ISU recorded its highest score of the night on the vault with a total of 47.950, thanks in part to a second-place finish by freshman Meredith LaRoche (9.775) and a third-place finish for senior Sarah Fisher (9.750).

LaRoche was solid all evening long, as she finished second in the all-around competition with a final score of 37.550.  In addition to second-place finish on the vault, she tied for second on bars with a 9.650 and scored over nine on beam and the floor exercise to cap off a stellar debut.  Teammate Danci Cha finished fourth in the all-around with a final tally of 36.375.

Senior Amanda Mohler started off her final season with the Redbirds in strong fashion by tying for first place on the balance beam (9.700) and junior Samantha Ward placed first on bars with a score of 9.675.  Other notable performances came from sophomore Marie Priest, who finished third on the floor exercise with a score of 9.700, and from Katherine Locher, who placed fourth on the beam with a score of 9.550.

The Redbirds return to action Friday, Jan. 15, at 6 p.m., when they take on Lindenwood, Oregon State and Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a quad meet hosted by Lindenwood. 

GoRedbirds.com:  Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.