March 21, 2008

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State gymnastics team (8-4) will travel to Champaign, Ill. to compete in the State of Illinois Classic on Saturday. The field for the quad meet will be made up of Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Illinois-Champaign. The competition will be held at Huff Hall at the University of Illinois-Champaign campus. The first event is set to begin at 2 p.m.

Head coach Bob Conkling feels that Saturday's meet will be an excellent competition, and the gymnasts will need to perform their routines flawlessly in order to win.

"The state competition is always a good competition," said Conkling. "In the past seasons, whoever performs the best routines seems to win. It is really anyone's game. UIC is looking really good right now, Illinois is ranked No. 24 in the country, and we and NIU have looked good all season. It will come down to who wants it the most and who performs the best."

The Redbirds have competed against both the Huskies and the Flames this season. On March 8, ISU fell to NIU at the Eagle Invitational, hosted by Eastern Michigan, by a score of 190.625-191.750. In ISU's final home meet of the season, UIC defeated the `Birds 192.150-193.625.

Illinois State is ranked third in the Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) in total points. The Redbirds average a score of 191.742.

Illinois-Champaign is currently ranked No. 24 in the nation, while Northern Illinois is ranked second in the Mid-American Conference.

At the conclusion of the State of Illinois Classic, the Redbirds next competion will be the MIC Championships. The event will be held at Shreveport, La. on March, 28.