NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State freshman Joy Ziegenfelder has overcome a lot on her way to joining the Redbird gymnastics team and for her efforts, she was selected to receive this week's Midwest Independent Conference Coaches Choice Award as voted on by the leagues head coaches.
Ziegenfelder is the fifth Redbird to be honored so far with a weekly conference honor in 2023, and the first to receive the Coaches Choice Award which was created prior to the season. The Gainesville, Florida, native came to ISU after overcoming personal challenges and physical obstacles that affected her gymnastics career.
When she arrived on campus earlier this fall, she began her training and worked extremely hard even though she had to keep all weight off her wrist so it could heal. Under the direction of the Redbird coaching staff, she learned a one-handed round off to double backs and an entirely new no handed beam routine. She was just recently cleared to start putting weight on her wrist, but still does the no-handed beam routine.
Last Saturday in ISU's win at Greenville, she competed on beam and took second place with a score of 9.750 behind teammate Angelica Labat. She has quickly become one of the more consistent performers on beam for the Redbirds, taking her spot in the middle of the lineup in each of the team's four meets this season. In a short time, Ziegenfelder has become a big part of the Redbird squad and has truly found a new home at Illinois State.
The Redbirds return to action this weekend with a pair of meets against in-state foe Northern Illinois. The split weekend doubleheader will begin on Friday in Normal, with the Redbirds hosting the Huskies at 7 p.m. at CEFCU Arena. Following an off day on Saturday, ISU will travel north to DeKalb on Sunday to compete against NIU at the Convocation Center at 2 p.m.
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