CHICAGO – For the second year in a row, Illinois State competed on the shores of Lake Michigan as the Redbirds and four other teams competed in the Windy City Invite held Friday night at Navy Pier. The Redbirds finished second in the meet (192.300) behind fellow Midwest Independent Conference member Southeast Missouri State (193.350) with Centenary in third (185.700).
Scoring Breakdown:
•   Southeast Missouri State: 193.350
•   Illinois State: 192.300
•   Centenary: 185.700
•   Fisk: 183.525
•  Wilberforce: 176.875
Thoughts From Coach Ringer:
"If we put together a stronger effort on bars tonight, it would have been a strong score for us. Despite that, I'm proud of their grit as they could have fallen apart and given up after a bad rotation early in the meet and then having to sit and think about it on the bye. However, they came back out and put together a great effort on beam and closed well on floor. There were some great performances throughout and if this team continues to improve and have this kind of mindset, good things are on the horizon for them."
Team Notes:
•   The Redbirds started the meet on vault and put together a solid score of 48.375 to start off the meet.
•   However, ISU faltered a bit on the second rotation on bars, having to post a 46.835 leading into the bye.
•   Following the bye, the Birds took to the beam and scored their biggest marks of the night, totaling 48.650 headed into the final rotation.
•   The Redbirds closed things out on the floor, scoring 48.450 to round out the competition.
Gymnast Notes:
•   For the second week in a row, Sammie Wolff led the way on the vault with a 9.800 to tie for the event win with SEMO's Taylor Ingle … last week she earned MIC Co-Performance of the Week honors with a 9.825 on the event … Madyson Baucom was also solid, scoring a 9.725 to place third overall and Jaly Jones was fourth with a 9.675.
•   On bars, Jada Beswick led the way with a score of 9.800 to take the event win, while Savannah Ray picked up a top 5 finish with a 9.675.
•   The Redbirds posted three scores of 9.750 or better on the beam, led by a 9.800 from Leah Davis to place fourth overall … Ally Lau and Jones also each posted scores of 9.750 to tie for seventh and help ISU post its biggest team event score of the evening.
•   The night wrapped up on the floor for the Redbirds, with Jones and Abbey Harris, who was in the rotation for the first time, each posting scores of 9.750 to tie for second place.
Up Next:
The Redbirds return home on Sunday to compete against Centenary for the second time in three days, as they host the Ladies in the 2026 home opener inside Horton Field House at 2 p.m. Â
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