NORMAL, Ill. – A record-breaking performance in the season opener for the Illinois State gymnastics team propelled them into their first home meet of the season on Friday night, as the Redbirds welcomed in Central Michigan, Greenville and Texas Women's to CEFCU Arena for a quad meet.
Much like the previous week, the Redbirds were solid on all four events and posted their second-straight high 195 score to come away with a victory in the home opener to improve to 4-0 early in the season.
Scoring Breakdown:
•   Illinois State: 195.750
•   Central Michigan: 194.000
•   Texas Woman's: 193.775
•   Greenville: 185.600
Thoughts from Coach Bob Conkling:
"I'm just so proud of this team as they hit on all four events tonight. There's always room to improve, but what they did tonight was stick together as a team and they went into every event with a lot of confidence. You could see how confident they were, and they believed how good they could be, and they certainly showed that for the second meet in a row."
Team Notes:
•   Illinois State started the night on vault and posted a strong score of 48.725 to get things started.
•   The Redbirds then moved to bars and improved on their team score with a 48.875 to take a narrow lead over Central Michigan halfway through the meet.
•   For the second-straight week, ISU then posted a score of 49 plus on the beam with a 49.025 to widen their lead over the Chippewas.
•   The win was sealed on the floor, as the Redbirds posted a season-high of 49.125 to come away with the final winning tally of 195.750. Â
Gymnast Notes:
•   Senior Angelica Labat took home the top spot on the vault and got the Redbirds off to a hot start with a score of 9.825, and was followed in a tie for third place by Jaye Mack with a 9.775.
•   Central Michigan took the top two spots on bars, but Labat was the top Redbird finisher in third place with a 9.825 with teammates Madison Kipp and Sarah Wabi right behind in a tie for fourth with scores of 9.800.
•   The Redbirds took the top three spots on beam, with Kipp leading the way with a score of 9.875 which was just short of her career best of 9.900 set in her freshman season. Freshman Reese Grolla came in second with a 9.825 and Mya Robinson rounded out the top three with a 9.800. Freshman Ally Lau also had a solid effort, finishing fifth with a 9.775.
•   On floor, Wabi led the way for ISU as she tied her personal best with a 9.875 to take second overall, just in front of Alana Laster in third with a 9.850.
•   Labat had a solid night in the all-around, placing second overall with a 39.050 bettering her mark of 38.6750 from a week ago in the event.
Up Next:
The Redbirds next travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan, for the Next Level Gymnastics Podium Challenge against host Western Michigan and George Washington on Saturday, January 20, at 6 p.m.
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