NORMAL, Ill. – A busy weekend of gymnastics at home at CEFCU Arena ended on a high note for Illinois State, as the Redbirds bounced back from a defeat at the hands of Western Michigan in the season opener last week to narrowly defeat the Broncos by a score of 193.875-193.850 on Sunday afternoon.
Scoring Breakdown:
• Vault: ISU 48.700, WMU 48.700
• Bars: ISU 48.200, WMU 48.050
• Beam: WMU 48.250, ISU 48.075
• Floor: ISU 48.900, WMU 48.850
Thoughts from Coach Bob Conkling:
"It came down to the last routine and Jaye Mack delivered on floor. We were strong again on vault and floor and beam was good, but we can even do better on that event and I'm sure we will. We were much better on bars today than Friday, which really helped us get the win. We had some great performances today that helped us take the win, including Carly Hawksworth competing in bar line up for the first time in her career and Sara Wabi winning bars and having a top-3 score on floor. Overall, we had a strong showing today against a very good team and can build on this performance going forward."
Team Notes:
• The Redbirds jumped out an early lead, thanks to a strong effort on vault with a 48.700 as Western Michigan struggled on bars with a 48.050.
• In the second rotation, it was a reversal of fortunes as the Broncos nearly erased the Redbird lead with a matching score of 48.700 on vault, as ISU scored a 48.200 on bars.
• Holding onto a slight lead headed into the third rotation, the Redbirds struggled on beam with a score of 48.075 as the Broncos took the lead on floor with a strong score of 48.850.
• Needing a strong finish, the Redbirds posted three scores of 9.825 or better to score a team best 48.900 on floor and after Western Michigan scored a 48.250 on beam ISU came away with the winning margin of .025.
Gymnast Notes:
• Illinois State took the top three spots on vault, with freshman Nirel Bart-Williams and Jaye Mack tying for the top spot with matching scores of 9.825 and Angelica Labat taking third with a 9.800.
• Sara Wabi was an event winner for the first time in her career for the Redbirds, as she tied for the top spot on bars with a career-high score of 9.750 as Labat finished third with a 9.700.
• Madison Kipp was the top finisher on beam for the Redbirds, as she took second place with a 9.800.
• The Redbirds also took the top three spots on floor, with Mack picking up the event win with a score of 9.850 and Wabi and Bart-Williams tying for second place with matching scores of 9.825.
• Bart-Williams was the high finishers in the all-around competition, as she tied her career-best score of 38.575 to finish third overall just ahead of Labat in fourth place.
Up Next:
The Redbirds will head south on I-55 next Saturday, Jan. 21, to take on Greenville in their inaugural college gymnastics season with the meet set to begin at 7 p.m. CT.
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