Feb. 8, 2008

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CHICAGO, Ill. - The No. 24 Fighting Illini women's gymnastics team turned in its second highest score of the season while placing third in a loaded field at the first IGI "Chicago Style" College Invitational at Navy Pier in Chicago. Illinois posted season-high scores on the balance beam and floor exercise to finish with a total of 194.775. No. 9 UCLA (196.875) narrowly edged No. 11 Stanford (196.700) for the team title, while Washington placed fourth with a 194.250.

"We had a pretty good all around performance considering we didn't count any major mistakes," head coach Bob Starkell said. "Our goal all along was trying to get rid of deductions that really killed our team score, and we did that. When looking at teams like UCLA and Stanford, who will probably end up being in the top-6 in the country, I think for us to match-up with them in a couple of areas, that speaks well for what direction we are going. Hopefully, we can correct some of the small mistakes that we made this week and have a great meet at home against Michigan State."

Freshman Allison Buckley excelled once again for the Orange and Blue, posting the team's top scores on three events en route to a season-high 39.200 all-around score. Buckley posted a career-high score of 9.875 on beam to tie for second place on the event behind four-time All-American Anna Li of UCLA. Buckley also earned a 9.875 on floor to tie for fifth overall, while placing seventh in the all-around and tying for ninth on vault (9.800).

Marijka Botterman also had a solid meet, posting the Illini's top uneven bars score of 9.775 and scoring a season-high 9.750 on floor.

"Allison (Buckley) and Marijka (Botterman) had very solid meets," Starkell said. "We had a couple mistakes, but some of those who were on three events had strong routines on two events, and that is going to carry over well down the road. We're looking at the underclassmen to keep learning and developing and I think they are doing that."

As a team, the Illini started slowly on vault (48.500) and bars (48.575), but finished strong with season-highs on beam (48.825) and floor (48.875).

On beam, three other Illini besides Buckley posted season-highs, with freshman Melissa Fernandez leading the way with a 9.775. Freshman Lashlee Morris (9.725) and Michelle McGrady (9.700) also earned season-highs on the event. Morris also earned a season/career-high 9.775 on floor and junior Julie Crall set a new career-high on bars with a 9.725. In all, the Illini set or tied nine season-highs and five career-highs on the night.

In addition to Buckley's all-around score, sophomore Nicole Cowart also had a solid all-around meet, scoring a 38.800. Cowart's night was highlighted by a 9.750 on beam.

The meet, which was hosted by both the University of Illinois and the Illinois Gymnastics Institute (IGI), drew 1,202 fans and was part of the IGI "Chicago Style" Club Gymnastics meet ¬- the largest women's gymnastics invitational in the country. This was the first time the event has had a collegiate invitational as part of the schedule.

"Competing at this event was a great experience for us," Starkell said. "We brought in three great teams and tried to treat this like a home meet. Having it in Chicago as part of this event makes it easy for thousands of young gymnasts to experience college gymnastics."

Illinois will return to Huff Hall next Saturday for a televised clash Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 16. The meet, which begins at 7 p.m., will be aired tape-delayed by the Big Ten Network on Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. CT.

- ILLINI -