MUNCIE, Ind. – A tri-meet against a pair of Mid-American Conference foes awaits Illinois State on Sunday, as the Redbirds travel to Muncie, Indiana, to face off against host Ball State and Central Michigan at Worthen Arena beginning at Noon CT.
"Both Ball State and Central Michigan will be strong competition for us on Sunday," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "I believe our team is ready and hungry to go out this weekend and hit their routines on all four events. Â If they can do that, I think it will change the rest of the season for us."
The Redbirds hosted their first home meet last weekend against MAC opponent Eastern Michigan at Horton Field House. ISU led early, but the Eagles rallied in the final two rotations to come from behind for a 193.950-192.650 win. The meet was filled with strong performances for the 'Birds, including a pair of event wins from freshman Jaye Mack. The Kansas City native tied for first on vault with a score of 9.775 and then ended her night with a tie for first on floor with a score of 9.800. Those performances earned her the MIC Newcomer of the Week Award for the first time in her young career.
Angelica Labat took home the all-around title for the second week in a row, and the Redbirds took the top four spots on vault, with Charlise Doctor, Alana Laster and Mack each tying for win with a score of 9.775 as J'Chelle Heard took fourth with a 9.750. Sofia Iribarren was steady as ever on bars, winning the event with the best individual score of the night for the Redbirds with a 9.850.
Ball State team turned in its second-best score of the season on the way to a second-place finish in a quad-meet at Eastern Michigan on Friday night. The Cardinals finished the meet with a score of 195.025, just behind 18th-ranked Western Michigan with 196.100. BSU was able to outscore both the host Eagles (194.925) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh (191.600) to come in second overall.
Central Michigan is coming off its first win of the season and a season-best 193.950 score in a dual last week at Bowling Green. The Chippewas won vault, bars and beam as a team and their scores of 48.875 on vault and 48.800 on bars were season bests.
Links to live video and results can be found on the Redbird Gymnastics schedule page on GoRedbirds.com. For live updates, follow Redbird Gymnastics on Twitter (@redbirdwgym) and on Instagram (isu_redbirdgym).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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