The MIC women's gymnastics dual on Sunday at Hyland Arena between Lindenwood and Illinois State went down to the final routine. In that routine,
Rachel Zabawa recorded a 9.875 on her floor event to give the Lady Lions a 194.575-194.075 victory over the Redbirds.
The matchup was close throughout as neither team led by more than half a point after any rotation. Lindenwood won the vault and floor events, while Illinois State had the higher team scores in the bars and beam. The Lady Lions final score was their third-highest in program history, while the Redbirds recorded their second-best score of the season.
The big difference was on the floor where Lindenwood set a school record with a 49.000, the first time it had hit the 49 mark in any event. Illinois State led the team score early in that rotation, but
Hannah Rector started Lindenwood's comeback with a 9.775, followed by
Valeri Ingui with a 9.800.
Kierstin Sokolowski and Zabawa then closed out the competition by both setting a school record with a 9.875. That quartet all finished in the top four in the event overall.
Lindenwood's second-best event was the beam where it had the second-best mark in school history with a 48.625. The Lady Lions had a fall on the first beam routine, but the final five gymnasts picked her up, with each scoring over a 9.6.
Valeri Ingui led the team with a 9.825, which was third overall in the dual. Sokolowski scored a 9.775, and
Lauren Cartmell had a 9.750.
On the vault, Lindenwood had a team score of 48.450. Sokolowski won the event with a score of 9.850, the third-best mark in program history. Zabawa was second overall with a 9.800, followed by
Aubree Horn with a 9.750.
Lindenwood recorded a 48.500 on the bars. Ingui led the Lady Lions and was second overall with a mark of 9.825, and
Shaylyn Garay had a 9.800 on the event and placed third.
Sokolowski set the school's all-around record for the second straight week, this time recording a mark of 39.225. She finished first out of three all-around competitors. Ingui had an all-around score of 38.525, and she scored a 9.800 or higher in three of the four events.
Lindenwood has its final home meet next week with a Saturday Quad Meet that includes conference rivals Illinois State and Illinois-Chicago. Action begins at 4 p.m. at Hyland Arena for that competition.
