The Lindenwood gymnastics team won its fourth straight Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Championships on Friday evening in St. Charles, Mo. The Lady Lions are just the second program to win four straight MIC titles, joining UIC who accomplished the feat in 2005.
 
"I am extremely proud of this group of gymnasts," said head coach Jen Llewellyn. "This was the most competitive season in the MIC since we joined, and every team brought their A-game tonight. We showed a lot of character as we kept performing well throughout the final routine. It was such a fun night to win another conference title, and to be able to do it this time in front of our home fans."
 
Lindenwood started on the floor and vault, and had a team score of 97.550 halfway through the meet. Despite the good start, UIC had a 0.375 lead at that point, and Texas Woman's was also in the title race just 0.250 points before Lindenwood.
 
After sitting out the fourth rotation, the Lady Lions retook the lead after a team score of 48.725 on the bars. Lindenwood had a 0.250 lead over UIC heading into the final rotation, and Texas Woman's was already finished with a final score of 194.650.
 
Lindenwood extended its lead over UIC after its first three gymnasts on the beam, Andavea Alexander, Breanna Franklin, and Taylor Colwell all scored a 9.800. Next, Emily Milliet and Ryan Henry had clean routines to clinch the victory for Lindenwood. Kierstin Sokolowski then capped the night with a 9.925 performance, the highest mark given out in any event.
 
Lindenwood finished with a team score of 195.225. It extended the team's streak of scoring 195 or higher to five straight meets. The Lady Lions end the year with a 195.175 RQS, the highest in program history.
 
Texas Woman's finished runner-up in the team standings, and UIC was third with a mark of 194.375. Among the top three teams in the MIC, Lindenwood had the high score on the vault, beam, and floor, while UIC had a meet-best mark on the bars. Southeast Missouri was fourth, followed by Illinois State and Centenary.
 
Lindenwood took home three MIC individual championships as well. Sokolowski won both the vault and beam titles. On the vault, she scored a 9.850, and shared the title with Southeast Missouri's Alexis Brawner. Her beam routine of 9.925 was 0.025 ahead of the two runner-up gymnasts. Alexander shared the bars championship after scoring a 9.850. Sokolowski ends her MIC career with three MIC titles, and is an eight-time all-MIC performer. Alexander earned all-MIC on the bars for the third time, including her second first-team accolade.
 
Alexander also earned second-team all-MIC honors on the beam and floor. She tied for fifth on the beam, and her floor score of 9.825 was good for sixth overall. Franklin and Colwell also earned all-MIC second-team honors on the beam. Both of those gymnasts earned all-MIC accolades for the first time.
 
Lindenwood continues postseason action in April. The Lady Lions hope to have individuals at the NCAA Regional Championships on April 7. The team will then head to the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships on April 13-15 in Denton, Texas, where the Lady Lions hope to capture their third national title over the last four seasons.