Feb. 1, 2003
Results
The Fighting Illini women's gymnastics team fell to Ohio State on Saturday night by the score of 195.175-193.450 in front of 981 fans at Huff Hall. The Buckeyes won all four events on their way to the win. They improve to 3-2 on the season, while the Illini drop to 4-4 overall.
"Our score was good," said head coach Bob Starkell, "but Ohio State came in and looked pretty flawless. They're very talented and probably a little bit more experienced team competition-wise. We just counted too many mistakes to stay in the competition. We basically beat ourselves rather than Ohio State beating us."
Kara Kapernekas was the only event winner for the Orange and Blue. The junior scored a career high 9.875 on the floor exercise to take the title. She also took third on the balance beam (9.825) and set a new career high on the vault (9.650).
Jessica Cole was the top all-rounder for the Illini. The transfer from Oklahoma scored a career high 39.050 to finish in second place behind OSU's Jill Weber (39.175). Cole finished tied for second on the uneven bars with a career high 9.800 and took third on the vault with a career high 9.775. Senior Karen Hawley finished third in the all-around with a 38.975. She also finished second on the floor exercise with a score of 9.825.
Illinois' best overall event was the uneven bars, where they scored 48.900. Michelle Buranich and Cole led the way with a 9.800's, good enough to tie for second place. Freshman Katie Wild (9.775) and sophomore Ashley Williams (9.775) had strong performances as well.
Despite the loss, Starkell was impressed with several individual performances. "Jessica Cole had an excellent all-around meet today," said Starkell. "Another good sign is Michelle Buranich coming off some shoulder problems hitting an amazing bar routine to finish up a solid bar team performance. Also, Margaret Dann's coming back from an ankle injury and is doing quite well."
Illinois travels to Southeast Missouri State next weekend to take on Otahkians on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Illini return home on Feb. 15 when they host Minnesota, Illinois-Chicago and Illinois State at Huff Hall.
