NORMAL, Ill. – A season-high effort on vault in the first rotation for Illinois State propelled the Redbirds to an early lead and they never looked back, as they defeated Midwest Independent Conference rival Southeast Missouri State by a score of 194.600-192.925 on Friday night at CEFCU Arena.
Scoring Breakdown:
• Vault: ISU 49.175, SEMO 48.025
• Bars: ISU 48.075, SEMO 48.000
• Beam: SEMO 48.575, ISU 48.225
• Floor: ISU 49.125, SEMO 48.325
Thoughts from Head Coach Bob Conkling:
"It was a great start on vault, and we finally got some of the scores we deserved. We went to bars and unfortunately had some mistakes there that seemed to go into beam where we had a couple falls early. However, the team rallied and hit those final routines and then finished great on floor. I'm extremely happy with the way we started and finished this meet and I think this team is starting to really come into its own as we get to the final month of the regular season. Having Angelica (Labat) set a season high in the all-around was great for her confidence and I think she will be a leader for this team the rest of the way."
Team Notes:
• The Redbirds started out the meet on fire, posting a season-high score of 49.175 on vault to take the early lead … that score is the second-highest score on the event in school history, behind last year's high of 49.350.
• A pair of falls on bars by the Redbirds allowed the Redhawks to close the gap after rotation two, but ISU rallied after a slow start on beam to finish with four scores of 9.75 to post a 48.225 to take the lead into the final rotation.
• ISU then finished strong on the floor, posting their second 49 plus event score of the night with a 49.125 to come away with the victory over SEMO.
Gymnast Notes:
• Senior Angelica Labat posted four event scores of 9.8 or better to set a season-high score of 39.225 to win the all-around title … she was followed by teammate Alana Laster in second with a 39.175 thanks to a season-high on vault.
• The Redbirds took the top six spots on vault to lead things off, led by Laster's season-high score of 9.925 and followed by freshman Nirel Bart-Williams with a 9.850 in second place and J'Chelle Heard in third place with a 9.825.
• Labat took home the event title on bars with a score of 9.800 and Carly Hawksworth was third in the final standings with a 9.725.
• Freshman Joy Ziegenfelder was the top performer on beam for ISU, as she posted a career-high 9.850 to tie with Bart-Williams for second with Labat in fourth with a 9.800.
• 2022 NCAA National Championship qualifier Jaye Mack was back to her old form on floor, posting a season-high 9.925 to take the event win with Bart-Williams in second with a 9.850 and Labat in third with a 9.825.
Up Next:
The Redbirds return to action on Sunday, Feb. 26, when they travel to face New Hampshire and Pitt for an east coast tri-meet.
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