The Illinois State gymnastics team finished third at a meet hosted by Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, on Sunday. The Redbirds achieved a total score of 193.975, trailing behind Ball State, which scored 195.300, and Kent State with 194.650.
Illinois State set a season-high team score on the bars with 48.925, aided by three gymnasts earning scores of 9.8 or higher. On vault, the team recorded a score of 48.575, including two performances above 9.800. Their floor exercise was also strong at 48.550. However, their final rotation on beam yielded a lower result of 47.925.
Sophomore Savannah Ray led the Redbirds on vault with a career-best score of 9.850, tying for first place in that event. Teammate Sammie Wolff followed closely in third place with a score of 9.825.
On bars, Madyson Baucom and Jada Beswick tied for fifth place with scores of 9.825 each, while freshman Jercy Koliego tied for seventh with a score of 9.800.
Jaly Jones and Ally Lau were the top performers for Illinois State on beam, both tying for fourth place overall with scores of 9.725.
Senior Leah Davis achieved the highest finish for Illinois State on floor, tying for fifth place with a score of 9.800; transfer Courtney Woods tied for ninth with a score of 9.750.
Head coach Ringer commented on the team’s performance: “There were so many things that went well today, and I was pleased with so much stuff, but we must find a way to finish a meet strong. For the past several meets, we have had three strong rotations and then we just can’t close it out on that final rotation. We are trying to continue to develop doing your gymnastics under pressure when you are close to winning a meet. I think we are gaining that experience, but it takes some time, and you can only replicate that so much in the gym. We are working on adjusting and improving on other events and there is still improvements to be made, but there were some good things out there today.”
Illinois State will host Southeast Missouri State next week at CEFCU Arena in Normal as part of its schedule within NCAA Division I events across various regions (https://goredbirds.com/). The meet is scheduled for Saturday, February 14 at 6 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund supports Illinois State’s competitiveness and recruitment efforts (https://goredbirds.com/). The program utilizes facilities such as the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center to prepare student-athletes (https://goredbirds.com/), and is affiliated with Illinois State University (https://goredbirds.com/). Fans can find news updates, schedules, rosters and more resources through GoRedbirds.com (https://goredbirds.com/).
For additional information about Illinois State athletics or tickets visit GoRedbirds.com or follow @redbirdgymnastics on Instagram.
