Redbirds Drop Road Meet At Western Michigan, 194.625-193.475

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Competing in Michigan for the second-straight week, Illinois State was right with host Western Michigan through the first two events of the meet at University Arena on Friday night. However, the host Broncos would pull away from the Redbirds over the final two routines to pick up a 194.625-193.475 victory in the second-to-last meet of the regular season.

Scoring Breakdown:
•    Western Michigan: 194.625
•    Illinois State: 193.475

Thoughts From Coach Ringer:
"I am so proud of our team for the resilience they showed this evening. They had each other's backs from start to finish and never backed down from any challenge that was placed in their way. We had to make some lineup changes after Mia Oh went down on floor, so Mackenzie Flutman stepped in on beam and crushed her routine. Audrey Hiatt was also back in lineup and crushed it as well. I'm just so proud of the growth of this group and I think they're building something really special here."

Team Notes:
•    Illinois State started on bars and posted a solid score of 48.750, as the Redbirds narrowly trailed the host Broncos who scored a 48.800 on the vault to begin the meet.
•    In rotation No. 2, the Redbirds scored 48.400 on the vault while Broncos scored a 48.875 on bars to gain a 97.675-97.150 advantage at the halfway point. 
•    The third rotation was not kind to the Redbirds, as they had to count two falls as part of a 47.800 final event score.
•    ISU finished the meet on the beam, where they scored a 48.525 to cap off the night.

Gymnast Notes:
•    Madyson Baucom and Sammie Wolf each tied for second on vault with matching scores of 9.775.
•    Julia Heiner posted a season high 9.825 on bars to place second on the podium, with Jada Beswick finishing in fourth place with a 9.775.
•    Audrey Hiatt tied for the event win on beam with a career-high score of 9.800 and Savannah Ray tied for third overall with a score of 9.725.
•    On the floor, the Redbirds were led by Jaly Jones who tied four fourth place with a 9.800 with a trio of Birds right behind in a tie for sixth place with scores of 9.700 (Mia LeBlanc, Jercy Koliego and Mackenzie Flutman).
•    LeBlanc took first in the all-around with a score of 38.500, her second-straight week competing in the all-around. 

Up Next:
Illinois State will wrap up the regular season next weekend in Pennsylvania, when the Redbirds take on host Pittsburgh and West Virginia in a tri-meet set to begin at 1 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House.

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