The Illinois State women’s gymnastics team welcomed former Redbird Andrea Orris to the coaching staff, as an assistant coach in the 2015 season. One of her roles as assistant coach is being the team’s beam and floor choreographer.

Before becoming a gymnast at ISU, Orris trained at WOGA, is a world-renowned gymnastics club in Plano, Texas. She trained with Olympic All-Around Gold Medalists Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin.

Orris was one of Conkling’s first recruits as head coach at ISU. During her time as a Redbird (2006-10), the gymnast received many honors. Orris was a member of the 9.8 club on bars, balance beam and floor exercise, and also won the Athletic Department Phoenix Award in 2010, and was announced as the MIC Senior Athlete of the Year. After graduating from ISU in 2010, Orris coached at Rising Stars Gymnastics, a local club in Bloomington, Illinois. In 2013, she accepted an offer in Austin, Texas, but returned this past summer to Bloomington to continue coaching at Rising Stars. Returning to her roots as a Redbird, Orris accepted the
offer as a new assistant coach and will continue to instruct at Rising Stars.