March 27, 2010
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COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 13 Illinois had high expectations heading into the Big Ten Championships, but fell short of its goal, recording a sixth-place finish at St. John Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Illini dealt with uncharacteristic mistakes and an injury on vault, but a solid finish on beam gave the squad a final score of 195.025 and placed the Orange and Blue ahead of host Ohio State (194.700).
"We had some uncharacteristic errors when we started on floor which took us out of our game right away," head coach Bob Starkell said. "We also had one of our top athletes get hurt which really put a kink into our system. We haven't had to deal with that obstacle before, and then we had to switch people in the lineup and were rushed on bars, so we were never able to settle down."
Illinois suffered that setback during rotation three on vault when junior Melissa Fernandez injured her leg on the landing, forcing her out of the lineup for the final two events, bars and beam. The Eudora, Kan., native tallied a 9.850 despite the injury and tied for third overall with junior Allison Buckley on the event.
"Melissa has been one of our most consistent all-arounders the last couple weeks, so it was tough to lose her," Starkell said. "It was a lower leg injury, so we will have to wait and see with her."
The Illini began the championships on floor and tallied a 48.850, but had two gymnasts step out of bounds, an uncommon occurrence for a typically strong floor lineup. Buckley paced the effort with a 9.825 followed by Fernandez's 9.800 and senior Nicole Cowart's 9.775. Junior Samantha Perino led off with a 9.725, and senior Sarah Schmidt wrapped up the scoring with a 9.725, including the deduction for stepping out.
After a bye, the Orange and Blue moved to vault and scored a 48.925 thanks to the pair of 9.850s from Buckley and Fernandez. Freshman Jaclyn Kantecki added a 9.775 while Schmidt tallied a 9.750. Cowart and sophomore Kelsey Joannides each finished the event with a 9.700.
During rotation four, the Illini were forced to alter their bars lineup due to the injury which moved sophomore Hannah Welker into Fernandez's spot. After the switch, the Illini started off with a fall and rushed routines, leading to a score of 48.150. Buckley turned in a 9.775 followed by Welker with a 9.675, Weinstein with a 9.625, Cowart with a 9.550 and Schmidt with 9.525.
The Illini moved to a bye during rotation five, but bounced back with a strong finish on balance beam, posting a 49.100. Perino set a new career high on the event and led the way along with Joannides, as both gymnasts notched 9.850s. Cowart, Schmidt and Weinstein each hit their routines with a score of 9.800, which ranked as a career high for the freshman in place of Fernandez.
"The beam performance was really good," Starkell said. "I was really impressed how they refocused and put a difficult situation behind them to finish strong."
Michigan won its fourth-straight Big Ten title and 18th overall with a score of 196.900 to finish in front of runner-up Penn State (196.525). Iowa (195.575) took third while Minnesota and Michigan State tied for fourth at 195.350.
Following the completion of the meet, Starkell was named Big Ten co-Coach of the Year for the second straight year along with Michigan's Bev Plocki. This marks the third time he has been awarded the honor after also garnering the accolade outright in 2005. Penn State swept the other two awards, with Brandi Personett winning Gymnast of the Year and Sharaya Musser taking home Freshman of the Year.
"It's an honor to be recognized, along with Bev, by the other coaches in the conference for this award," said Starkell of taking home Coach of the Year honors. "With such a strong and balanced group of teams this season, there are many well-deserving coaches."
The Illini now await the official announcement of their placement for the NCAA Regional Championships, which will be on Monday, March 29, after the completion of all conference championships.
