NORMAL, Ill. – As the gymnastics regular season heads into the final month of the regular season, Illinois State hits the road to head to New Hampshire for a quad meet with the hosts, Pitt and Southern Connecticut State at the Whittemore Center beginning at 1 p.m.
"The team had strong workouts this week and are ready to push their performances to the next level," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "We are also excited to compete in another quad meet. We competed against UNH a few years ago but I don't believe we have ever competed against Pitt or Southern Connecticut since I have been here, so it will be an exciting competition."
A season-high effort on vault in the first rotation propelled the Redbirds (7-7, 2-1 MIC) to an early lead last Friday night at CEFCU Arena, as they defeated Midwest Independent Conference rival Southeast Missouri State by a score of 194.600-192.925. The season-high score of 49.175 was highlighted by Alana Laster's 9.925 which earned her MIC Performance of the Week honors. Senior Angelica Labat also posted four event scores of 9.8 or better to set a season-high score of 39.225 to win the all-around title for the Redbirds, which earned her MIC Gymnast of the Week honors.
The Wildcats (9-6, 4-2 EAGL) have registered their two highest scores of the season in their last two minutes, including a season-high 195.900 in their most recent home meet.
Pittsburgh (9-10, 2-3 EAGL) fell to North Carolina by a final score of 195.700-194.950 last Sunday afternoon. Pitt finished the meet with their strongest rotation on floor, scoring a 48.975 overall. Sophomore Hallie Copperwheat claimed the first-place spot on the podium for her all-around performance, scoring a 39.250, which earned her EAGL Gymnast of the Week for the fourth time this season.
Southern (5-12) enters Sunday's meet at New Hampshire having bested its previous season-high in each of three previous meets. The Owls are coming off a 193.400 at Maryland last weekend, which featured season-highs on the bars (47.950) and floor (48.725). Abby Royer was also named the Gymnastics East Conference Newcomer of the Week for her performance at Maryland.
Links to live results and video can be found at on the gymnastics schedule page at GoRedbirds.com.
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