Redbirds Lead From Start To Finish In Tri-Meet Victory

NORMAL, Ill. – In front of a raucous crowd of over 1,000 fans at CEFCU Arena, the Illinois State gymnastics team took an early lead and never looked back in a tri-meet victory over Western Michigan and Alaska Anchorage on Friday night as the Redbirds hosted their annual pink meet in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Scoring Breakdown:
•    Illinois State: 195.550
•    Western Michigan: 194.900
•    Alaska Anchorage: 189.725

Thoughts From Head Coach Bob Conkling:
"I felt like we did a good job on all four events and were solid from start to finish tonight. I thought we had some big vaults, but bars made the difference tonight. We have been working hard to improve there and I felt like we made some strides tonight. Ending on floor at home is always great so we knew we had a good shot with the lead heading into the final rotation, and everyone scored 9.8 or higher to close out the win."

Team Notes:
•    The Redbirds jumped out to an early lead on vault with a score of 48.650, as Western Michigan struggled on bars in the first rotation.
•    ISU held onto its margin halfway through, after scoring a 48.900 on bars to take a near full point lead into the third rotation over the Broncos and Seawolves.
•    A massive score on floor for Western Michigan in the third rotation trimmed the Illinois State lead to 146.200 to 146.075 heading into the fourth rotation.
•    Despite their lead being nearly erased, the Redbirds got the momentum back on floor and scored a 49.350 to secure the win. That score on floor is tied for the fourth-highest mark in school history and marks the second highest score of the 2024 season.

Gymnast Notes:
•    Senior Angelica Labat was the top finisher for the Redbirds in the all-around, as she came in second just behind Western Michigan's Payton Murphy with a score of 39.300.
•    Labat tied for the event win on bars with a 9.850, matching Murphy at the top, and was followed by Sara Wabi in third with a 9.825 and Julia Heiner in a tie for fourth with a 9.775.
•    Freshman Ally Lau tied for the event win on beam with a career-high score of 9.850, with Leah Davis right behind in a tie for third place with a 9.800.
•    Every member of the floor lineup for the Redbirds scored 9.825 or better, with Labat and Jaye Mack finishing in a five-way tie for second place with scores of 9.900. 
•    Labat and Alana Laster tied for third place on the vault, with matching scores of 9.800 and Jaye Mack finished sixth overall with a 9.775.

Up Next:
The Redbirds return to the mat on Sunday, when they travel north to DeKalb, Illinois, for a quad meet with the host Huskies, Alaska Anchorage and Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center, with links to live stats and video available on the gymnastics schedule page on GoRedbirds.com.

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