NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State gymnastics team opened its home portion of the 2023 schedule on Friday against a family foe in Lindenwood, and it was the Lions who took an early lead and didn't look back in a 194.525-194.125 defeat of the Redbirds at CEFCU Arena.
Scoring Breakdown:
• Vault: ISU 48.900, LU 48.300
• Bars: LU 49.050, ISU 47.700
• Beam: LU 48.675, ISU 48.375
• Floor: ISU 49.150, LU 48.500
Thoughts from Coach Bob Conkling:
"When have three gymnasts fall on an event (bars), you really put yourself in a whole," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "Lindenwood came in and was solid on all four events tonight, so we just could not make up that deficit counting two falls in that second rotation. I was particularly impressed with the way we performed on beam, after struggling there in the first meet of the season. The freshman all hit their routines tonight, and I think that helped the momentum heading to the floor where we put up our best performances of the night. Looking to Sunday, we have to hit on bars and be cleaner on vault and beam and then if we do the same thing on floor, we should be able to compete well against a good Western Michigan team."
Team Notes:
• The Redbirds fell behind slightly after the first rotation, despite a solid effort on the vault with a score of 48.900 however the Lions put up their best team score of the night at 49.050 on bars to take the early advantage.
• Lindenwood extended that lead to almost a full point after the Redbird struggles on bars and a solid outing on vault.
• ISU closed the gap a bit with solid score of 48.375 on beam, but Lindenwood posted a 48.500 on floor to maintain a strong advantage headed to the fourth and final rotation.
• The Redbirds shined on the floor and managed to cut the Lions deficit in half with a stellar score of 49.150, but the Lions were able to overcome a fall on beam to secure the victory.
Gymnast Notes:
• Senior Angelica Labat and freshman Nirel Bart-Williams tied for the top spot on the vault with scores of 9.825, as the Redbirds took the top four spots with Jaye Mack in third with a 9.800 and Alana Laster in fourth with a 9.775.
• Julia Heiner was the standout on bars for the Redbirds, as she posted a career-best effort of 9.850 to finish second overall, with Labat right behind in fourth place with a score of 9.825.
• Madison Kipp led the way on beam with a 9.750 to finish in third place, with Bart-Williams in fourth place with a 9.725.
• ISU took the top six spots on the floor, with Mack leading the way in first place with a meet-high score of 9.875. Kaitlyn Donovan and Bart-Williams tied for second with scores of 9.850, followed by Sara Wabi in fourth place with a 9.800, Laster in fifth with a 9.775 and Labat in sixth with a 9.750.
• Labat finished second in the all-around with a score of 38.675, while Bart-Williams finished third with a score of 38.500.
Up Next:
The Redbirds have a quick turnaround before their next competition, as they return to CEFCU Arena on Sunday to host Western Michigan for a 2 p.m. meet to wrap up the weekend.
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