Feb. 8, 2003
Results
The Fighting Illini women traveled to Cape Girardeau, Mo. on Saturday and fell to Southeast Missouri State by the score of 194.375-192.425. The Illini (4-5) struggled on their first event, the uneven bars and could not recover. It was the highest score of the season for the Otahkians (6-4), who won all four events.
"For some reason we just didn't have the energy today to compete well," said Illinois head coach Bob Starkell. "I think part of that may have been that we only competed five on our first event, the uneven bars. Katie Wild got hurt earlier in the week and couldn't compete today and that left a big hole in our line-up. I think it put a lot of pressure on our girls knowing that they couldn't afford any mistakes on the first event."
One bright spot for the Illini was the performance of Kara Kapernekas. The junior all-arounder was nearly flawless on the balance beam, scoring a 9.925 to win the event. That score tied for the second highest beam score in school history, behind only Stacy Redmond's 9.950 in 1995. Kapernekas also scored a 9.850 on the floor exercise to finish in a tie for third. Her all-around score of 38.925 was good enough for third place.
Senior Amanda Kaufman was the other event winner for Illinois. Her 9.750 on the vault tied her for first with SEMO's Amy Cole and Ashley Goodwin. Kaufman also performed well on the floor, tying Kapernekas for third with a 9.850. Sophomore Jessica Cole led the Illini on the bars with a second place finish (9.725).
In addition to Kapernekas, the Orange and Blue had three other all-around competitors. Karen Hawley finished fifth (38.675), Jessica Cole sixth (38.375) and Ashley Williams seventh (37.825). SEMO's Ashley Goodwin won the all-around with a score of 39.100.
"There were some good signs today, but overall we just had too many mistakes," said Starkell. "Kara Kapernekas and Karen Hawley both had good meets without any major breaks. Amanda Kaufman also did well today. She's coming back from an injury and did three events for the first time. Her floor exercise was great."
"Hopefully this sign of weakness on the road will serve as a spark for the team," continued Starkell. "We really need to be focused in the gym this week to be in top form for Minnesota, UIC and Illinois State next weekend."
Next week Illinois returns home to host Minnesota, Illinois-Chicago and Illinois State on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Huff Hall. The meet begins at 7 p.m.
Team Results V UB BB FX Total
SEMO 48.550 48.550 48.450 48.825 194.375
Illinois 47.925 47.875 47.850 48.775 192.425
