March 25, 2006

Complete Results

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 27 Fighting Illini Women's Gymnastics team finished in seventh place at Saturday night's Big Ten Championship meet held in Jenison Fieldhouse on the campus of Michigan State. No. 21 Minnesota stunned the conference as they took first place with a score of 195.150. Host, Michigan State placed second with a team score of 194.975 and Penn State rounded out the top three (194.925). No. 7 Michigan, the seven-time defending champion and this year's pre-meet favorite, finished fourth (194.475), followed by Ohio State in fifth (193.525), Iowa in sixth (193.425), and the seventh-place Illini (192.500).

Even though the Illini struggled in many areas throughout the meet, head coach Bob Starkell found a couple of bright spots in the outcome.

"I felt we could have done a lot better as a team, but I am also satisfied with how our young girls competed and bounced back from some mistakes," said Starkell, who had freshmen competing in 13 of 24 routines in Saturday's championships.

Illinois kicked off the championship meet on bars where they tallied a team score of 48.275. Sophomore Krystal Melcarek began the event for the Illini with a 9.550 and freshman Marijka Botterman followed with a 9.625. Solid scores continued to roll in for the Orange and Blue with senior Emily Earle and freshman Kim Kruk posting 9.600 and 9.650, respectively. Junior captain Cara Pomeroy wrapped the event up with Illinois' highest score in the event with a 9.850 to finish fourth overall.

After a bye in the second rotation, the Illini hit a bump in the road when they took to the beam. Senior Katie Wild and freshman Marijka Botterman each fell in their routines to score 9.225 and 9.025, respectively. Junior Melissa Singer helped the Illini bounce back with a solid score of 9.650, before Kruk recorded Illinois' third fall and the squad's lowest beam score of 8.900. Crall and Pomeroy tried to help revive Illinois' team score by each posting a 9.825 to tie for third place, however, the Illini ended the event with a team score of 47.550, their second-lowest beam score of the season.

The Illini tried to collect their composure during their second bye of the night before heading onto floor. Pomeroy led off with a floor routine that was good for a score of 9.700 followed by a performance by Wild that the judges scored a 9.725. Singer recorded another 9.725 for the Orange and Blue and things were starting to look up. However, the Illini freshman found the event to be a rough one, with falls coming from Marijka Botterman (9.175) and Kruk (9.125). Crall ended the routine with a 9.800 to complete Illinois' team score of 48.125.

The Orange and Blue finished the meet on vault after sitting out for their final bye of the evening. Singer led off on the event with a 9.600 before Emily Earle put up a score of 9.500. The freshman class wrapped up the meet as Kruk (9.700), Crall (9.750), Botterman (9.775) and Lindsey Smith (9.725) each posted a vault score of 9.700 or better. The Illini finished with a team vault score of 48.550. Botterman's 9.775 was good for a sixth-place finish overall. Crall finished the night with an all-around score of 37.650 to lead the team. Botterman put up Illinois' second-best all-around score of 37.600.

When all was said and done, Illinois' two All-Big Ten selections showed why they are so highly regarded by the league's coaches. Pomeroy, who was voted first team All-Big Ten yesterday for the second straight year, had two top-five finishes on the night, while Crall, a second team All-Conference pick, had three outstanding events after a slow start on bars. Starkell was satisfied with how Crall performed in the first Big Ten Championships of her career.

"Julie (Crall) started the meet off on a bad note but came back to have three incredible events," said Starkell. "She's learning real quickly what it means to be a Fighting Illini."

Starkell was also pleased with junior Melissa Singer's performance at the conference championships.

"I'm very impressed with the character Melissa (Singer) showed today," Starkell said. "We had some injuries hurt us and the vault is not her strongest event. As a staff we are pleased with how she finished up the year."

The Illini now await the official announcement of their placement for the NCAA Regional Championships, which will be announced on Monday, March 27. It is likely that Illinois will end up in the South Central Regional, hosted by the University of Arkansas.