TABLE OF CONTENTS Quick Facts ..............................................................................................................................................2 2015 Roster ..............................................................................................................................................3 Coaching Staff ..................................................................................................................................... 4-6 Meet The Gymnasts ........................................................................................................................... 7-21 Season Preview ......................................................................................................................................22 Individual and Team Awards .................................................................................................................23 Records ............................................................................................................................................ 24-27 Athletics Administration .................................................................................................................. 28-29 Redbird Arena & Horton Field House ...................................................................................................30 The Owen Strength and Conditioning Center .......................................................................................31 Karin L. Bone Athletics Study Center ............................................................................................. 32-33 Illinois State University ................................................................................................................... 34-36 2015 Schedule .......................................................................................................................................37 CREDITS The 2015 Illinois State University Gymnastics Media Guide was written, designed and edited by Danielle Gombac, student intern in Athletics Media Relations. Editorial assistance provided by Lauren Hutchcraft, Mike Williams and John Twork. 1 ISU ATHLETICS MISSION STATEMENT TEAM ROSTER The Illinois State Univeristy Athletics Department is committed to academic and athletic excellence as it prepares today’s student-athletes to become tomorrow’s leaders. Name Ht. Event Year Hometown/High School Bossle, Kristyn 5-7 All-Around So. West Chicago, Ill. / Community HS Cha, Danci 4-10 All-Around Jr. Milwaukee, Wis. / Wauwatosa East HS QUICK FACTS Fisher, Sarah 5-2 All-Around Jr. Davie, Fla. / Pembroke Pines Charter HS Location .........................................Normal, Ill. Jonas, Laura 5-4 All-Around Fr. Abington, Pa. / Abington Senior HS Kennedy, Sydney 5-7 All-Around So. Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley West HS Founded ................................................... 1857 King, Sami 5-3 All-Around Sr. Canton, Mich. / Salem HS Enrollment ............................................ 20,762 Knoernschild, Megan 5-4 All-Around Fr. Manchester, Mo. / Lutheran South HS Lieberman, Kristen 5-2 All-Around Sr. Lake Forest, Ill. / Laurel Springs Academy Nickname ...........................................Redbirds Locher, Katherine 5-1 All-Around Fr. Newport News, Va. / Tabb HS Colors....................................... Red and White Meyer, Kylie 5-2 All-Around Fr. Chesterfield, Mo. / Cor Jesu Academy Mohler, Amanda 5-7 All-Around Jr. Tinley Park, Ill. / Lincoln Way North HS Mascot .............................. Reggie the Redbird Pas, Demi 5-5 All-Around So. Calgary, Alberta / Crescent Heights HS Facility ..............................Horton Field House Pena, Heather 4-10 All-Around Sr. Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Charles W. Flanagan HS Priest, Marie 5-1 All-Around Fr. Lilburn, Ga. / Parkview HS Capacity .................................................. 5,000 Ward, Samantha 5-4 All-Around So. Edmonton, Alberta / Austin O’Brien HS Conference ....................Midwest Independent President ..................................Dr. Larry Dietz SOCIAL MEDIA Director of Athletics .....................Larry Lyons To stay up-to-date with women’s gymnastics, follow Illinois State University Athletics on Facebook and Twitter. COACHING STAFF Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Illinois-State-Univer- Head Coach ...............................Bob Conkling stity-Gymnastics Alma Mater ..................Indiana Wesleyan, ‘82 Assistant Coach .....................Steve Avgerinos Twitter: @ISURedbirds Assistant Coach ..........................Andrea Orris Gymnastics Office ..................(309) 438-5049 Gymnastics Fax ......................(309) 438-3597 MEDIA RELATIONS Assistant Coach Andrea Orris Gymnastics Contact ............ Danielle Gombac Email Address [email protected] Phone ......................................(630) 415-6899 SID Fax ...................................(309) 438-5634 Website ................................ GoRedbirds.com Office Phone ...........................(309) 438-3825 SID MAILING ADDRESS Athletics Media Relations 202 Horton Field House College at Delaine Normal, IL 61761-7130 2 3 Bob Conkling Steve Avgerinos Head Coach Assistant Coach SIXTEENTH SEASON ∙ LANSING, Ill. ∙ ILLINOIS STATE NINTH SEASON ∙ ROCKFORD, Ill. ∙ INDIANA WESLEYAN Steve Avgerinos enters his 16th year as an assistant coach with the Illinois State gymnastics team, after taking a short break from 2003-05. A native of Lansing, Illinois Avgerinos has helped lead Redbird With over 30 years of coaching experience, Bob Conkling enters his ninth season as head coach at Illinois gymnastics to three team NCAA appearances. State. A Rockford, Illinois native, Conkling was both an athlete and a coach at the Rockford Gymnastics Academy. He competed in tumbling, diving and trampoline, which became an Olympic sport in A self-taught tumbler, he was an ISU cheerleader for almost four years, as well as being a member 2000. He also competed in the double mini-trampoline. His strengths in tumbling led him to qualify for na- of the Gamma Phi Circus, ISU’s student-run circus. During the 2006 and 2009 gymnastics seasons, tional and international competitions, such as the World Age Group Championship in Rockford, Illinois and Avgerinos was named the Midwest Independent Conference Assistant Coach of the Year. Nationals at Miami (Ohio). During his time at ISU, and nine seasons as head coach, Conkling has secured more than 72 wins and sent 17 student-athletes to the NCAA Regionals. Under Conkling’s leadership, two student-athletes have been named MIC Senior of the Year and 21 gymnasts earned spots on the All-Midwest Independent Conference First Team. A graduate of Indiana Wesleyan (formerly known as Marion College), Conkling received his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1982. Conkling taught swimming and gymnastics at Indiana Wesleyan as a student, while receiving credit for his instruction. After graduating from Indiana Wesleyan, Conkling coached a gymnastics team in Indiana for two years be- fore returning to Rockford for almost 10 years to coach at the Rockford Gymnastics Academy. Conkling then ventured to Atlanta, Georgia, where he worked for Atlanta Legal Copies, a business services company. During his time in Atlanta, Conkling coached a gymnastics team part-time. Approximately 10 years later, Conkling returned to his hometown and the academy to take on the position of program director. He spent three more years there before his arrival at Illinois State in 2005. 4 5 Andrea Orris Sami King, Senior Assistant Coach Personal: Born on June 25, 1993 ... daughter of Gerry and Barb King ... major: exercise science ... favorite pasttime: hanging out with friends, being outside, reading ... favorite movie: The Princess Bride ... favorite FIRST SEASON ∙ PLANO, TEXAS ∙ IILLINOIS STATE gymnast: Nastia Liukin ... favorite quote: “I am not discouraged, be- cause every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” - Thomas Edison. 2014 Season: Earned all-conference honors with her victory on the beam at the Midwest Independent Conference Championships ... competed in Canton, Mich. the balance beam competition at the 2014 NCAA Regional competition ... placed 11th with a score of 9.625 ... competed in six meets on vault Event: All-Around with a season-high score of 9.775 ... competed in nine meets on uneven The Illinois State women’s gymnastics team welcomes former Redbird Andrea Orris to the coaching staff, bars with a season-high score of 9.875 ... posted a season-high score of as an assistant coach. As she begins the 2015 season, one of her roles will be as the team’s beam and floor 9.875 on balance beam in 10 meets ... competed on the floor in seven choreographer. meets with a season-high score of 9.85. Before becoming a gymnast at ISU, Orris trained at WOGA, is a world-renowned gymnastics club in Plano, Texas. She trained with Olympic All-Around Gold Medalists Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin. Orris was one of Conkling’s first recruits as head coach at ISU. During her time as a Redbird (2006-10), the gymnast received many honors. Orris was a member of the 9.8 club on bars, balance beam and floor exercise, and also won the Athletic Department Phoenix Award in 2010, and was announced as the MIC Conference Senior Athlete of the Year. Heather Pena, Senior After graduating from ISU in 2010, Orris coached at Rising Stars Gymnastics, a local club in Bloomington, Illinois. In 2013, she accepted an offer in Austin, Texas, but returned this past summer to Personal: