ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Senior Angelica Labat and freshman Ally Lau were honored Friday night for their stellar performances during the 2024 gymnastics season, as Labat was named the Midwest Independent Conference co-Gymnast of the Year and Lau was tabbed as the MIC co-Newcomer of the Year at the annual pre-championship banquet hosted by Lindenwood.
"I'm so happy for both Angelica and Ally receiving these well-deserved honors," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "Angelica has been one of the best all-around gymnasts in the MIC for the past five seasons and will go down as one of the best to ever compete in this conference. Ally has done a great job at being one of the most consistent beam workers on the team this season and has given us a big boost in her first year with us. These honors are great for them, and hopefully they can bring home some more tomorrow."
Labat's Gymnast of the Year honor is her fourth in as many seasons, as she continues to re-write the record books at Illinois State and the MIC. The Chesapeake, Virginia, native heads into the meet as the favorite to win the all-around crown for a third time in her career. Â She has the top NQS score in the conference at 39.230, just ahead of Jaly Jones of Lindenwood in second and Taylor Ingle of SEMO in third.Â
A four-time MIC Gymnast of the Week selection in 2024, Labat also heads into the meet with the second-best NQS on vault (9.855), behind teammate Jaye Mack (9.870) who also heads into the conference championship with the top NQS in the conference on floor (9.905). She set a high score of 39.325 in the all-around against Southeast Missouri earlier in the season and posted a career high of 9.950 on vault in 2024.
Lau, a two-time MIC Newcomer of the Week selection in 2024, was a model of consistency for the Redbirds in her first season at ISU. The San Diego, California, native became a beam specialist for the Redbirds, helping the team shore up an event that had been a struggle in recent years. She has posted seven scores of 9.8 or higher on the event this season, and heads into the MIC Championship tied for fourth on beam with a NQS of 9.830. She twice posted career-best scores of 9.850, most recently on March 10 at San Jose State.
She is the third Redbird gymnast in a row to win MIC Newcomer of the Year honors, following Nirel Bart-Williams (2023) and Alana Laster (2022), and the fourth in the past five seasons to win the award dating back to 2020, when Labat earned MIC Newcomer of the Year honors to begin her illustrious career.
Illinois State will look to bring home the conference championship for the second-straight year at the 2024 Midwest Independent Conference Championship hosted by Lindenwood on Saturday night. The Redbirds will compete against Centenary, Lindenwood, SEMO and Texas Woman's for the conference title, with the meet streamed live on ESPN+ beginning at 5 p.m. CT.
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.
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