April 2, 2011
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - On Saturday night at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, the No. 14 Illinois women's gymnastics team earned its second-ever trip to the NCAA Championships following a runner-up finish at Coleman Coliseum. The Illini came through in the clutch on balance beam and totaled a 195.925 to edge Penn State (195.850) for the final qualifying spot. Host Alabama won the regional crown with a 197.275 and notched the other bid to the national meet, which is slated for April 15-17 in Cleveland, Ohio.
"I am so proud of this team and how they fought to the end," interim head coach Kim Landrus said. "We talked all year about momentum and really started solid on floor, which we carried throughout the meet. We did dynamic gymnastics today and focused on all the little things. There were six great teams here, so it feels great to earn a trip to Cleveland."
The meet came down to the wire, as the Illini were just .125 ahead of the Nittany Lions heading into the final rotation. The Orange and Blue needed to hit on beam to remain ahead of PSU, who finished the meet on bars. Penn State turned in a 49.125 while the Illini had two gymnasts remaining to perform on their event. Senior Allison Buckley and Melissa Fernandez each nailed their routines with stuck landings and scored 9.850s, giving the Illini a 49.075 and clinching a national berth for the second time in the last three years.
"We have a really strong beam team, so I knew they had it in them," Landrus said. "We just needed to follow through and did just that."
Individually, Buckley took fourth in the all-around with a 39.350 and led the Illini on three events, as she tied for third on bars, fourth on floor and seventh on beam with a 9.850 on each. Freshman Amber See was the top Illini vaulter and reached the podium with a fourth-place showing after a 9.850 on the event.
"We are so excited," Buckley said. "We knew it was really close heading into beam, but it is one of our strongest events and we really held it together today. We did the routines that we do every day in practice, which is just what we needed to do."
Following a bye during the first rotation, the Illini began the competition on floor and started solid with a score of 48.975. Buckley paced the effort with a 9.850 followed by See and junior Kelsey Joannides, who each notched a 9.800. Sophomore Alina Weinstein added a 9.775 while senior Samantha Perino and Fernandez each turned in a 9.750.
The Orange and Blue then moved to vault and posted another 48.975, as See tied for fourth and led the way with a 9.850. Joannides was the next best Illini at 9.825 while Buckley followed with a 9.800. Weinstein and Fernandez each notched a 9.750 to round out the scoring on the event. On the uneven bars, the Illini tallied a 48.900 behind a 9.850 from Buckley, a 9.800 from Weinstein, a 9.775 from Joannides, a 9.750 from Fernandez and a 9.725 from freshman Sarah Fiedler.
On the final event of the night, Weinstein kicked things off with a 9.800 on beam followed by Fiedler's 9.725. After See came up big with a 9.850, the Illini had a fall on the next routine, but the two senior leaders hit when it mattered most to give Illinois its best event score of the night.
The Illini, who qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history in 2009, were the three seed heading into the meet, but upended the two-seed Penn State, who was ranked No. 11 in the country. Last season as a three seed, the Illini just missed a return trip to nationals after a third-place finish at regionals.
Up Next: Illinois will compete at the NCAA Championships in two weeks in Cleveland, Ohio. The meet, which will be hosted by Kent State, will be held at the Wolstein Center from April 15-17.
NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Team Results
1. Alabama 197.275*
2. ILLINOIS 195.925*
3. Penn State 195.850
4. Auburn 195.600
5. Kentucky 195.175
6. Central Michigan 195.075
*top two teams qualify for the NCAA Championships
