Feb. 15, 2003

Complete Results

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini recorded a season high score on their final event, the floor exercise, but it was not enough as they fell to No. 22 Minnesota (195.950) and Illinois-Chicago (193.975) at Huff Hall Saturday night. Illinois finished third with 192.525 points. The Orange and Blue struggled on the bars and beam and could not recover. A recent rash of injures left the Illini with only five competitors on the bars, a fact that head coach Bob Starkell thinks affected the team's mindset.

"We started off strong and performed a lot better on vault than we have the whole season," said Starkell. "But I still think that because of the injuries, we are lacking depth on bars. If you only put five people up, everyone's score will count. When you put six people up, people don't get as worried if someone makes a mistake because someone else could do better. It's throwing the girls out of whack because that's normally a strong event for them. The ladies were being aggressive and trying to go hard, but they just went a little too hard."

Despite the loss, the day belonged to sophomore Ashley Williams. The reigning Big Ten freshman of the year, tied the Illinois all-around record and took first place with a career high score of 39.350. That score equaled Phaedra Dixon's school record that was set in 1999. Williams also won the bars (9.900) and beam (9.875), setting career highs in both. Perhaps her most important event though, was the vault. The Northport, Ala. native has struggled on the event all season, but on Saturday, she turned in her best performance to date with a 9.775 to finish fifth.

"The vault has been my problem this season because we usually start on vault and I would fall, and then I had no confidence in the rest of my routines," said Williams. "Landing my vault really helped my confidence tonight. "

"We knew if she (Williams) could hit vault today, she should have an excellent meet, and tonight she really did both," said Starkell. "She had one of the best meets that she has ever had."

Senior Amanda Kaufman also had a good day. She tied a career best on the floor exercise by scoring a 9.850 to finish tied for third with teammate Kara Kapernekas. Kapernekas meanwhile, tied a career best of her own with a 9.850 performance on the bars to finish fourth.

In addition to Williams, the Illini had three other all-around competitors. They were Kapernekas (38.375, 5th place), Jessica Cole (37.675, 7th place) and Karen Hawley (37.650, 8th place).

The Illini travel to East Lansing, Mich. next Saturday, Feb. 22, for the Michigan State Invitational. They then head west to take on Denver on March 1 before return to Huff Hall to face Iowa on March 8.