Jan. 14, 2003
The Fighting Illini women's gymnastics team will open up it's home schedule this Friday by welcoming 13th ranked Auburn, Ball State and Northern Illinois to Huff Hall. Competition begins at 7 p.m.
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The Illini are fresh off a trip to The Bahamas, where they finished fourth at the Bahamas Breeze Invitational behind No. 9 LSU, No. 25 Maryland and Towson University. Illinois posted a score of 190.125 at the meet, finishing just .325 behind second place Maryland (190.450). The highlight for the Orange and Blue came on the floor exercise, where they scored a 48.675 to take the event. Freshman Katie Wild led the way on the floor with a 9.825. Amanda Kaufman (9.800), Kara Kapernekas (9.750), Karen Hawley (9.725) and Michelle Buranich (9.575) all performed well on the floor as well.
Kapernekas was the only Illini all-arounder in the meet. She finished fifth with a score of 37.900.
This Weekend's Opponents...
Auburn opened up its season last weekend with and impressive 195.350 effort at the Michigan State Invite to take second. The 13th ranked Tigers are led by All-Southeastern Conference performer Courtney Puckett, who finished third in the all-around at MSU with a 39.025.
Ball State has competed twice so far this year, including last week at Pittsburgh, where it scored 192.825 to finish third. The Cardinals also topped Western Michigan earlier in the year with a 190.125 composite score. Junior Quiana Williams was named Mid-American Conference Gymnast of the Week after posting a 38.000 in the all-around vs. Western Michigan.
Northern Illinois won its season opener last weekend, topping Winona State 191.675-182.950. Sophomore Christina Campos earned MAC Gymnast of the Week honors after winning the beam (9.725), the floor (9.875) and the all-around (38.925) at the meet.
All-Around Ashley
Sophomore Ashley Williams, who was limited to competing on only the uneven bars and balance beam at the Bahamas because of a sore knee, expects to compte in the all-around this weekend.
Williams competed in the all-around in all 14 of Illinois' meets last season. The Northport, Ala. native finished third in the Big Ten all-around to earn All-Big Ten Conference honors and was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Wild Shines in Debut
Freshman Katie Wild got her Fighting Illni career off to an impressive start at the Bahamas Breeze Invitational, leading the Orange and Blue in two events. The Mendota Heights, Minn. native scored a 9.675 on the balance beam and a 9.825 on the floor exercise to pace the Illini in both events. Her floor performance was the highest score of the night for Illinois and was good for fifth place in the event.
New Assistants
Illinois head coach Bob Starkell welcomes two new faces to his coaching staff this year in Kim Mazza and Becky Ashton.
Mazza comes to Illinois after spending the past two years as an assist coach for Iowa State. Prior to coaching, Mazza was a standout gymnast for the Cyclones. She was the first national qualifier in school history and recorded the first 10.0 in school history on the floor exercise in 1997. At Illinois, Mazza will coach the balance beam.
Ashton is a former Illini gymnast who lettered from 1996-99, when Starkell was an assistant for Illinois. She was named the Orange and Blue's Most Valuable Gymnast in 1996 and was a captain in 1999. She has spent the past two years at Oregon State University persuing a master's degree in geology.
Illinois To Host Big Ten's
On March 29 of this year, seven Big Ten Gymnastics teams will converge on the U of I campus for the 2003 Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships.
The field includes Illinois, Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State and Michigan, the defending Champions. Historic Huff Hall will be the site of the championships, with the Hawthorn Suites Hotel serving as the host hotel.
