The Lindenwood women's gymnastics team captured its first Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) title on Saturday in Denton, Texas. The Lady Lions also captured three individual titles in a record-setting day for the third-year program.
 
The day did not start good for Lindenwood after scoring just a 48.025 on the beam. The Lady Lions got four strong performance, including 9.800s by Valeri Ingui and Kierstin Sokolowski, a 9.775 by Rachel Zabawa, and a 9.700 by Hannah Rector. Lindenwood had falls in the other two routines though, and had to count an 8.950 towards its team score.
 
Lindenwood got back into the meet though with two great floor and vault performances. On the floor, the Lady Lions scored a 49.275, the highest event team score in program history. That record didn't last long though as the Lady Lions had a 49.500 on the vault.
 
On the floor, Sokolowski set a team record with a 9.900. Ingui, Rector, and Zabawa all had 9.850 marks, and Lauren Cartmell recorded a 9.825. On the vault, a new school record was set by Courtney Heise with a 9.950. That mark was the highest individual score in Lindenwood history for any event. Ingui and Zabawa both had a 9.900, and Aubree Horn and Sokolowski each had a 9.875.
 
Lindenwood had a bye in the fifth rotation and had a narrow lead over three teams entering its final event, including a .375 advantage over the host school Texas Woman's. The Lady Lions scored a 49.000 on the bars, capped by Ingui and Heise finishing with a 9.850 and a 9.900, respectively. Other high marks were a 9.775 by Horn, a 9.750 by Shaylyn Garay, and a 9.725 by Sokolowski.
 
Lindenwood finished before Texas Woman's, who was on the floor for its final event. Texas Woman's cut into the Lady Lions' lead with a 49.325, but finished just .050 shy of Lindenwood. The Lady Lions had a team score of 195.800, bettering its previous school record by over a point. Texas Woman's finished with a 195.750. Illinois State was third, followed by Southeast Missouri, Illinois-Chicago, and Centenary. Four of the six MIC teams scored a season-high team score at the competition.
 
The Lady Lions had never finished higher than third in the individual events, but won three individual titles at its third conference meet. Heise won two of the titles by capturing the vault and bars championships, both in record-breaking fashion. Valeri Ingui, the 2015 MIC Gymnast of the Year, backed that title up by winning the all-around competition with a 39.400, which shattered the previous Lindenwood record of 39.225.
 
A school record six gymnasts for Lindenwood won 15 all-conference honors. Five earned the honor in the vault, as Heise, Zabawa, and Ingui were first-team, and Horn and Sokolowski were second-team winners. On the bars, Heise and Ingui were first-team all-conference. Sokolowski and Ingui earned second-team accolades on the beam. Sokolowski was first-team on the floor, and Rector, Ingui, and Zabawa were second-team honorees. In the all-around, Ingui and Sokolowski were both first-team award winners.