FORT WORTH, Texas – Illinois State freshman gymnast Jaye Mack has had an amazing debut season for the Redbirds, but possibly her best moment is yet to come as she heads to the 2022 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship to compete against the best gymnasts in the country at Dickies Arena on Thursday.
Mack will compete in Session I beginning and will rotate with Minnesota on floor during the second rotation of the early semifinal. Fans wanting to watch Mack's performance can do so by tuning into ESPN2 at Noon CT. She punched her ticket to the NCAA Championship by posting a score of 9.925 at the Norman Regional two weeks ago and advanced as the top individual on floor that was not part of an advancing team.
"I think Jaye proved to herself that she can perform at a high level, even when every set of eyes in the arena were on her," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "She was the very last routine of the entire meet at Regionals and every single team and judge were watching her routine. I think that pressure just made her want to do better, and it resulted in a tremendous routine. I think I learned more about Jaye then maybe she did, and I think we both learned she can rise to any occasion no matter the pressure."
The Kansas City, Missouri, native is the second Illinois State individual to qualify for the NCAA Championships and the second in as many years, after teammate Angelica Labat qualified on vault last year.
"Jaye will be competing against the best gymnasts in the country at the NCAA Championships," Conkling continued. "However, she has all the skills she needs to post another high score and finish near the top of the event standings. She will be set up really nice on floor by Minnesota, so she knows what opportunity lies ahead of her in Fort Worth."
The 2022 Midwest Independent Conference co-champion on floor, Mack's score of 9.925 set at the NCAA Regional tied her career high set previously twice this season. Overall, she has posted 9.0 or higher score performances six times this season. During her freshman campaign, Mack was a two-time MIC Newcomer of the Week selection and earned Performance of the Week honors once.
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.
Â
