The 19th-ranked Fighting Illini women's gymnastics team closed out its home schedule with a 195.625-193.975 victory over Illinois-Chicago in front of 550 fans at Huff Hall Saturday afternoon. Freshman Nicole Cowart won two event titles, tying for first on vault, while also winning the floor crown. Senior Cara Pomeroy won uneven bars in her last home meet, and Marijka Botterman tied with Cowart for the vault crown and took the all-around title. Illinois posted a school record on vault and also earned a season-high score on floor exercise.

Illinois started off with a bang on vault, scoring a school-best 49.125 to replace the previous high of 49.100 set in 2005 and matched earlier this season. Cowart and Marijka Botterman each put up 9.875s to tie for the event title, as Illinois swept the top five places. Junior Michelle McGrady took third (9.825), and Kim Kruk tied her career-high with a 9.775 to tie for third with sophomore Lindsey Smith. Illinois held a strong 49.125-48.300 lead after one rotation.

"Today we had a strong emphasis on stuck landings," head coach Bob Starkell said. "Michelle definitely started us off in the right direction for a great team score on vault."

The Orange and Blue scored a 48.925 on the uneven bars in rotation two. Pomeroy won her 38th event title, scoring a 9.875 in her final bars routine at Huff Hall. Freshman Sarah Schmidt and Kruk tied for second-place with a 9.800, while junior Krystal Melcarek tied for fourth with a 9.775. After uneven bars, the Illini held an airtight lead of 98.050-96.850 over the Flames.

The Illini struggled in the third rotation, scoring a 48.425 on the balance beam. The highest placing Illini on beam was Pomeroy, who scored a 9.775 to take second place. She was closely followed by McGrady in third, with a 9.750. Illinois' lead began to slip just a bit, to 146.475-145.525, after rotation three.

After a tough rotation on beam, Illinois rebounded on floor, setting or tying five career-highs en route to a season-high team score of 49.150. Cowart was magnificent in the final performance of the night, notching a career-typing score of 9.875 to win the floor title. Melcarek tabbed a career-high score of 9.850 to place second, while Smith also had a career-high performance with a 9.825 to tie for third. Schmidt posted a career-tying performance to tie with Smith for third, while Marijka Botterman also tied her career-high on floor, posting a 9.775.

"We're starting to make more and more improvements," Starkell said. "Today we had a good score, but we need to start paying more attention to detail."

Rounding out the day, Marijka Botterman scored a 39.025 to take the all-around title, with Kruk right behind her in second with a 38.950.

At the conclusion of the meet, three Illini seniors (Cara Pomeroy, Melissa Singer and Danye Botterman) were honored for their achievements inside and outside of the classroom. Danye Botterman, who had missed all but one competition this season due to injury, returned to the vault line-up for the first time this month and scored a 9.550 and also exhibitioned on the uneven bars in her final appearance at Huff Hall.

Next weekend, Illinois returns to the road to compete in the State of Illinois Classic in Dekalb, Ill., on Sunday, March 25, at 2 p.m. The meet will feature the four Division I women's gymnastics teams in the state - Illinois, UIC, Northern Illinois, and Illinois State. A recap and full results can be found at fightingillini.com following the conclusion of the meet.