CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – For the second time this season, Midwest Independent Conference foes Illinois State and Southeast Missouri State will square off head-to-head on Friday, when the Redbirds travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to compete against the Redhawks. The two teams will also be joined by Fisk University at Houck Field House.
SETTING THE SCENE
Action is set to begin at Houck Field House at 6:30 p.m. CT in Cape Girardeau. The meet will be the final one at home for the Redhawks in 2024. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live results will be available via StatBroadcast on GoRedbirds.com.
THOUGHTS FROM ISU HEAD COACH BOB CONKLING
"We need to head in there with a lot of confidence, know our routines are good and stay consistent throughout the meet. They are totally capable of hitting all their routines and being a 196 plus team, we just can't have any let downs on certain events. Bars and beam were not where we wanted them to be last week at Lindenwood, but if we hit those we know we can get over that 196 mark and continue to improve."
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
•   ISU currently ranks No. 38 in the country as a team in the latest Road To Nationals rankings and sit at No. 30 in the national floor rankings and No. 35 on the beam.
•   Earlier this season, ISU defeated SEMO in Normal, Ill., by a final score of 195.600-194.475.
•   Last week, it was a battle of two of the top teams in the MIC in St. Charles, as Lindenwood closed things out strong in the fourth rotation to top Illinois State by a final score of 196.075-195.250.
•   The Redbirds posted their second-best score in program history on floor with 49.425 to trim the Lindenwood deficit headed into the final rotation, but struggled on beam and the Lions came away with the win.
•   For the third meet in a row, senior Angelica Labat took home the all-around title with a final score of 39.250.
•   Kaitlyn Donovan set a career-high on floor with a 9.925 to take the event win which also earned her MIC Performance of the Week honors, while freshman Ally Lau tied for the beam win with a 9.825 to hear MIC Co-Newcomer of the Week honors.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
•   Southeast Missouri State ranks No. 51 in the latest Road To Nationals rankings, thanks to a ranking of No. 47 nationally on bars.
•   SEMO scored a 195.625 at the SEMO Tri-Meet last Friday night defeating Talladega College (190.175) and Winona State (189.025) in front of a sellout crowd inside Houck Field House.
•   The Redhawks are coming off a busy weekend, as they finished in second place overall at the Air Force Tri-Meet with a final score of 194.575 on Friday night before turning around on Sunday and to place in the Denver Tri-Meet with a final score of 194.675.
•   Friday's competition will mark the final competition inside Houck Field House for four SEMO gymnasts in Anna Speller, Sophia Studdard, Lydia Test, and Lydia Webb.
•   Webb was selected as the MIC Gymnast of the Week, after she had an outstanding weekend beginning with Friday night's meet at the United States Air Force Academy where she finished second overall with a 39.100. Webb followed that with an all-around score of 39.250, good enough for fourth place in the meet with Denver and Iowa State on Sunday.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
•   Fisk sits at No. 65 in the latest Road To Nationals rankings, with a season-high score of 193.400.
•   Last weekend, Fisk came in fourth in a quad meet with Eastern Michigan, West Virginia and Bowling Green with a score of 192.300.
•   The Bulldogs are led by All-American Morgan Price, who finished second in the all-around with a score of 39.275.
FOLLOW US
For all latest on Illinois State gymnastics, stay tuned to GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on Instagram (@redbirdgymnastics), on X (@redbirdwgym) and Facebook.
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