NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's gymnastics team will host UIC inside Horton Field House on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 4 p.m. for Senior Day. The Redbirds will honor Brianna Barrett, Meredith LaRoche, Kylie Meyer, Marissa Piper, and Sarah Pollman as they compete in their final home meet of their senior season.
Thoughts from Coach Conkling:
"UIC is having a very strong season and is at the top of the MIC conference standings. It will be bitter-sweet for both of our teams, because UIC has decided to drop both their women's and men's gymnastics programs and this most likely will be the last time we compete against them at home. With this being our last home meet of the season and also senior day, I expect our team will be focused on hitting each of their routines and giving their fans a fun day of gymnastics. I encourage all our fans to come out and support both teams and give our seniors a meet to remember. The competition should be great to watch and I'm looking forward to competing against them."
Against UIC:
The Redbirds competed against UIC at the Illinois Classic in Champaign-Urbana on March 11, 2018 … UIC finished second with a score of 194.725, while Illinois State placed fourth with a score of 188.550 … Illinois State also competed against the Flames on Jan. 29, 2017, and were defeated by a score of 192.425-192.000 … LaRoche placed second in the all-around competition with a score of 38.525, aided by a third-place finish in the balance beam with a score of 9.700 … Gabrielle Cooke placed third in the all-around with a score of 38.250, and earned first place on the floor with a score of 9.850.
The Last Time Out:
Illinois State and Central Michigan met for the second time this season, yielding a similar result as the Chippewas defeated the Redbirds 194.200-191.725 … ISU posted its highest score of the night on the final rotation on floor, scoring a 48.425 … Anna Marema earned a season-high on uneven bars with a score of 9.750 to tie for second … Cooke tied for first place in the all-around with a score of 38.950 for her fourth all-around win of the season … Cooke earned a 9.825 on beam, earning a season high and tying for first place, and also scored a 9.825 and placed second on floor.
About The Flames:
UIC recorded a final score of 195 or higher for the third straight meet, defeating Eastern Michigan last weekend … all five of the Flames' scores on floor were 9.800 or higher, and the team totaled 49.200 … Senior Mikailla Northern was named MIC Gymnast of the week (Jan. 30), and junior Toni Alicke earned Performance of the week (Jan. 30) recently … another nearly flawless floor routine, combined with two additional top-3 finishes, made Alisa Sheremeta the unanimous choice for Midwest Independent Conference Newcomer of the Week last week.
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