RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's gymnastics team hosted UIC in its home opener Sunday night at Horton Field House, with the Flames winning the dual meet by a score of 192.425-192.00.
"We were very excited to be home competing at Horton Field House," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "I was very pleased that Gabrielle Cooke looked really good in her events tonight and Meredith LaRoche hit every single event."
LaRoche placed second in the all-around competition with a score of 38.525, aided by a score of 9.700 on the balance beam to finish in third place overall. Behind LaRoche, Cooke placed third in the all-around with a score of 38.250, thanks to her first-place win on the floor with a score of 9.850. The 9.850 tied the highest individual event score of the evening, matching UIC's Riley Cholod's effort on the uneven bars.
Senior Demi Pas was also an event winner for the Redbirds, with her strong performance of 9.775 on balance beam. Freshman Madison Solka was right behind Cooke in second place with a score of 9.750 on floor. Adding to the team's strong efforts, Katherine Locher earned second place on the uneven bars with a score of 9.725.
"The girls were very strong until balance beam," Conkling said. "This was tough, considering it was our best performance last week. As a team, we will be working on getting that consistency back on balance beam and cleaning up small details on the uneven bars."
The Redbirds will get back on the road next week to take on Central Michigan, Feb. 5, beginning at 1 p.m.
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