NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's gymnastics team honored its five seniors Brianna Barrett, Meredith LaRoche, Kylie Meyer, Marissa Piper, and Sarah Pollman Saturday as they competed in their final home meet of the season against Midwest Independent Conference foe UIC. The Redbirds battled, but were defeated by the No. 30 ranked Flames 194.700–193.525
Redbird Scoring Breakdown:
• Vault: UIC – 48.700, Illinois State – 48.175
• Bars: UIC – 48.600 , Illinois State – 48.525
• Beam: UIC – 48.650, Illinois State – 48.050
• Floor: UIC – 48.750, Illinois State – 48.775
Thoughts from Coach Bob Conkling:
"I think we started off okay on vault, but we have to work on our landings and clean up our form. On uneven bars, we were really strong, and I am very pleased with how the team performed. However, once we got to beam a few girls hit really well, but we have mistakes we need to get rid of. I believe we are capable of getting rid of them and confident in the upcoming weeks. On floor we were great everybody hit, and I was really pleased to end with four really solid routines. It was a great meet to honor our seniors and they performed well in their final meet at home."
Team Notes:
• The Redbirds started the meet on vault and trailed the Flames by 0.425 points at the end of the first rotation … ISU held three of the top five places on vault.
• After a strong performance on uneven bars, the Redbirds still trailed the Flames 0.600 at the end of the second rotation … ISU held three of the top five places on uneven bars.
• Illinois State had their strongest performance on floor exercise during the fourth rotation, with a final team score of 48.775.
Gymnast Notes:
• Madison Solka placed third and earned a career high on vault with a 9.725.
• Freshman Sofia Iribarren tied a career high on uneven bars with a score of 9.800 and tied for first place.
• LaRoche earned a season high on beam with a 9.650.
• Savannah Remkus and Gabrielle Cooke tied for first place on beam with a score of 9.800.
• Freshman Mia Quigg placed first on floor with a score of 9.825.
• Cameron Topp earned a career high on floor with a score of 9.800 and placed second overall.
• Cooke won the all-around for the fifth time this season, with a score of 38.875.
Up Next:
The Redbirds will travel to Denver, Colorado, to compete against the Denver Pioneers on Saturday, Feb. 16. at 7 p.m.
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