AMES, Iowa – With three scores to start the season in the high 195 range, the Illinois State gymnastics team will look to crack the 196 plateau on Friday, when the team travels to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones.
SETTING THE SCENE
The Redbirds and the Cyclones will get things started at Hilton Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. Friday night. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live results can be found on the gymnastics schedule page at GoRedbirds.com.
THOUGHTS FROM ISU HEAD COACH BOB CONKLING
"I feel like this team is competitive right now and can feel confident heading into a tough road meet this Friday at Iowa State. They have everything they need to push Iowa State, to break that 196 mark and possibly come away with a win. We just need to go in, hit our routines and clean up some uncharacteristic mistakes from last week."
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
•   The Redbirds head into the meet at No. 30 in the Road To Nationals rankings, in large part due to a No. 17 national ranking on beam.
•   ISU (5-1, 1-0 MIC) heads into the meet after another strong showing last weekend, where the Redbirds placed second just behind Western Michigan and in front of George Washington at the Next Level Podium Challenge in Battle Creek, Mich.
•   Illinois State posted the highest team scores on bars (49.025) and beam (49.075) of the night and finished with a score of 195.900, their second-highest score of the season and fifth highest in school history, and had a Redbird finish at least tied for first in every event.
•   A pair of stellar individual performances highlighted the meet for ISU, as Jaye Mack took home the title on floor with a season-high 9.925 and Alana Laster won on vault with a 9.900.
SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
•   Iowa State heads into the meet tied at No. 22 in the latest Road To Nationals rankings, thanks to a No. 11 national ranking on vault and a No. 19 ranking on bars.
•   The Cyclones (1-2, 1-0 Big 12) defeated No. 26 BYU (3-7, 0-1 Big 12) by a score of 196.900-196.125 last Friday to secure their first victory of the season which also marked the first win of Head Coach Ashley Miles Greig's career.
•   Their score marked the highest home score since 2006 and was aided by five 9.900 scores to help them reach this mark.
•   Hannah Loyim set a new all-around career high with a 39.425 and Noelle Adams stood out yet again, as the freshman scored two 9.9's on vault and on the floor to earn her Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
FOLLOW US
For all latest on Illinois State gymnastics, stay tuned at Goredbirds.com and follow the team on Instagram (@redbirdgymnastics), on X (@redbirdwgym) and Facebook.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
Â
