MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – In the first meet of the 2017-18 season, the Illinois State gymnastics team traveled to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to take on Mid-American Conference preseason favorite Central Michigan. The Chippewas won the dual meet with a score of 196.375-191.600, as the Redbirds received a strong performance from sophomore Gabrielle Cooke.
"Gabi has looked good in practice ever since she got back this summer. She's put in the work at home and she deserves everything that she gets right now," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "She looked great on all four events, and had a real solid day."
In her first meet of the season, Cooke won the all-around competition with a score of 38.675, aided by a score of 9.850 on the floor exercise. Cooke also posted a strong score of 9.775 on vault, and added a 9.700 on bars to round out a solid effort. Junior Meredith LaRoche place second overall in the all-around behind her teammate with a score of 37.875.
The Redbirds' best rotation of the day was on floor, with Cooke leading the way and freshman Savannah Remkus right behind with a score of 9.800 as the Redbirds closed the competition with an event score of 48.850. Fellow freshmen Mary Kate Bihary and Katey Digiacomo both had solid performances on vault in their first collegiate meet, as each received a score of 9.525.
Senior Kylie Meyer competed for the first time in nearly two years, after coming back from a pair of ACL surgeries. She competed on both vault and beam, with her score of 9.775 on beam tying with Alyssa Wiggle for the team high on the apparatus.
"It was really good to have Kylie back in the lineup after 2 years of battling injury," Conkling said. "We also had several freshmen step up in their first collegiate meet and post strong performances. We learned a lot about our team today and know what we need to focus on heading into next weekend."
The Redbirds will return to action next Friday, when they travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to take on Southeast Missouri State.
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