McLean County Times

Illinois State University (ISU) is set to compete in its first dual meet of the season against Northern Illinois University (NIU) on Friday. The Redbirds, after participating in three multi-team meets, will face the Huskies in DeKalb. This meet marks the first of two encounters between the teams within five days, with a subsequent meeting scheduled for next Tuesday in Normal.

The event will take place at 6 p.m. at NIU's Convocation Center. Fans can follow live stats via Virtius on GoRedbirds.com and watch a live stream on ESPN+.

"Northern Illinois is always a tough opponent, but the team is prepared and ready to take on the challenge," said ISU Head Coach Bob Conkling. "This will be the first of three meets in eight days for us, so we need to get off to a good start and keep building on our previous success."

ISU recently achieved its best performance of the season at the Windy City Invite in Chicago, scoring 195.650 points. The team concluded that meet with a floor exercise score of 49.300, tying for the tenth-highest mark in program history.

Three ISU gymnasts received Midwest Independent Conference honors following their strong showing in Chicago: Jaly Jones was named MIC Newcomer of the Week for the second consecutive week; Alana Laster earned MIC Performance of the Week; and Elli Brownfield received MIC Coaches Choice award for Week 3.

Northern Illinois enters Friday's meet ranked No. 55 by Road To Nationals with a 1-5 record this season. Senior Ellery Werner highlighted NIU's recent performance by winning the balance beam event at last week's EMU Quad Meet, where NIU placed third with a score of 193.275.

Friday’s competition also serves as an opportunity for NIU to honor four seniors: Alana Anderson, Natalia Kraus, Isabella Sissi, and Ellery Werner immediately after the meet.

For more updates on Illinois State gymnastics, visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them on social media platforms such as Instagram (@redbirdgymnastics), X (@redbirdwgym), and Facebook.