March 4, 2011
Results
NORMAN, Okla. - Following a slow start at the Lloyd Noble Center, No. 17 Illinois finished strong with a pair of scores over 49 during the final two rotations to earn a third-place finish with a final total of 195.400. The Illini placed ahead of Texas Woman's University (193.425) and behind a pair of ranked foes in the runner-up No. 13 Ohio State (196.100) and the meet champion No. 4 Oklahoma (197.050).
"We never got the momentum going in the first half of the meet, but we came back on vault and bars to finish strong," interim head coach Kim Landrus said. "We weren't as sharp on beam as we needed to be and then let things that we couldn't control affect us on floor. In order to be a great team, we need to focus on ourselves and what we can control."
Illinois started the night on beam, recording a 48.675 behind a 9.850 from Fernandez, who tied for third to lead the beam team. Senior Allison Buckley posted a 9.775 while junior Kelsey Joannides was next at 9.725. Sophomore Alina Weinstein's 9.675 and Amber See's 9.65 wrapped up the scoring on the event.
The Illini moved to floor during the second rotation and were led by See, who tied for fifth with a 9.825. Buckley added another 9.775 and Weinstein finished next at 9.750. Senior Samantha Perino chipped in a 9.675 and Joannides scored a 9.525 to give the Orange and Blue a team total of 48.550 on the event.
In the night's third rotation, Illinois matched its season-best score on vault with a 49.025. Joannides finished tied for fifth with a 9.850 while a trio of Illini, sophomore Jaclyn Kantecki, Fernandez and See, each notched a 9.800, which marked a season high for Kantecki and Fernandez. Weinstein rounded out the scoring on the event with a 9.775.
The momentum from vault carried over into the final rotation where the Orange and Blue turned in their top event score of the night with a 49.150 on bars. Weinstein, who led the Illini in the all-around with a 39.100, paced the effort with a career-high 9.900 to tie for third overall. Fernandez was not far behind with a season-high mark of 9.875 while Hyatt tallied a 9.825, just shy of her career best. Joannides and Kantecki each came away with a 9.775 to close out the night.
"We put everything behind us and put up solid and aggressive routines over the final two events," Landrus said. "We want to carry the momentum that we closed out the meet with into Sunday's final home meet."
Up Next: Illinois returns home for a Senior Day dual on Sunday, March 6 at 1 p.m. against Western Michigan at Huff Hall.
