CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics faces off against the Illinois State Redbirds on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m., CT. in Normal, Ill. Friday's dual will take place at the Horton Field House at Illinois State and will mark the first competition for SEMO against Illinois State all season.
Ingle Soars To MIC Honors
Earlier this week, freshman Taylor Ingle was selected as the Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Week for her performance last Friday night.
Ingle registered her best All-Around score of the season with a 39.150. Headlined by a season-high on the Bars (9.825), Ingle registered a 9.725 or higher in every rotation during the competition. She also took first place in the All-Around competition for the entire meet.
For Ingle, the award is her second weekly conference award of the season, having won the Newcomer of the Week the first week of the season.
Last Time Out
Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics was last in action on Friday night, Feb. 10, at Houck Field House where the Redhawks, Lindenwood, and Fisk competed in the second tri-meet of the season in Cape Girardeau.
The Redhawks took home a victory registering 194.500 to defeat MIC-member Lindenwood (193.800) and Fisk (189.175).
SEMO started fast and finished strong with a 49.150 on the Vault (first rotation) and Floor (fourth rotation) to secure the victory Friday night.
Head Coach Ashely Lawson was thrilled with the victory: "I was very pleased with the way our girls competed the entire night. Any time you take on a conference opponent the stakes are higher, and I thought our team came together with a lot of energy to put on a fantastic performance.
The Redhawks got off to a hot start on the Vault. Sophomore Madison Greene led the way from the fifth-spot in the rotation, registering a 9.900.
Lindsay Ockler (9.875) and Lydia Webb (9.850) rounded out the top-three for the Redhawks in the first rotation.
SEMO registered a 49.150 team score after the first rotation.
Moving to the Uneven Bars, Lindsay Ockler and Janelle Lopez paved the way with a pair of 9.850 scores to continue the impressive start for SEMO.
Freshman Taylor Ingle, from the first-spot, registered a 9.825 rounding out SEMO's top-three with Lydia Webb just behind in fourth (9.775).
Going into the third rotation, the Redhawks sat at 97.800 (48.650 Bars).
SEMO would rotate to the Beam in the third rotation of the evening as Molly Maxwell kicked things off from the first-slot. Maxwell, a Milton, Wis.-native, registered a 9.225.
Ingle led the way in the rotation, registering a 9.850 from the fourth-slot to lead SEMO on the Beam.
Senior Lindsey Moffitt was just behind Ingle from the third-slot, securing a 9.775.
Heading into the fourth rotation, SEMO had an overall score of 145.350.
On the fourth rotation, the Redhawks tied their strongest showing of the evening.
Madison Greene and senior Jordan Jones paced the Redhawks with a pair of 9.875's.
Webb received a 9.850 from the third-spot, and Nyah Reader earned a 9.800 to round out the top scorers for SEMO.
Freshman Kailyn Hamilton made her SEMO debut on Friday night, competing on the floor from the exhibition slot hitting a 9.550.
SEMO picked up their first victory over the Lindenwood of the season having already faced the Lions twice before Friday night.
Scouting the Opponent
Illinois State
Illinois State will host the Redhawks for the first time this season while also facing each other for the first of three times this season.
The Redbirds have a record of 6-7 with their most recent win coming from a tri-meet they hosted on February 3rd where they scored 195.200.
Illinois State has averaged a score of 194.4 over 8 meets this season, while coming off a season best 195.850 last week.
During their last outing the Redbirds started things off on bars with a score of 48.900 which would be their second-highest score of the year on the event.
They would then follow in the beam where they posted a 48.925, the school's best of the year, all while 5 of the scorers scored a 9.700 or higher.
Next was the Floor event with a score of 49.200 which was the second best of the year for the school and second best for the meet.
Lastly, on the vault the Redbirds as a team recorded a 48.825, which was also a season best for ISU.
Some names to know from the Redbirds include Angelica Labat who finished second overall in the meet in the all-around with a 38.950. Labat had the highest score in the vault event with a (9.825) and bars (9.850).
Freshman Nirel Bart-Williams from Murphy, Texas was the school's other top finisher, with career highs on the beam (9.850) and floor (9.900).
Last Matchup
The last matchup between SEMO and Illinois State resulted in a Redbird win on March 18, 2022 by a final mark of 194.275-193.425.
