Feb. 19, 2004

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This Week
The Fighting Illini (5-3, 2-0 Big Ten) continue their home-stand by hosting Ball State this Saturday night at Huff Hall. The action begins at 7 p.m.

Scouting the Cardinals
Ball State (4-5) is ranked #51 in the GymInfo Rankings with a season average of 192.554. The Cardinals lost a pair of meets last weekend. They dropped a 195.05-192.1 decision to Illinois-Chicago and a 194.525-190.375 to Northern Illinois. Two weeks ago BSU topped the Illini in the three-team Cardinal Classic. Bowling Green took the title (193.475), BSU was second (193.425) and Illinois was third (192.925) with their lowest score of the season. Ball State is coached by Mary Roth, who is in her 19th season with the Cardinals.

Faculty/Staff Night
When the Illini host Ball State this weekend at Huff Hall, all UIUC faculty and staff will be admitted for FREE with their UIUC ID card. In addition, all UI students will be admitted for FREE with proper ID. Tickets for Fighting Illini gymnastics are sold at the door. Prices are $5 for general admission, $4 for UIUC faculty and staff, and $2 for high school students.

Last Week In Review
Fifth-ranked Iowa State topped the Illini at Huff Hall on Valentine's Day, 196.1-194.925. It was Illinois' second-highest score of the season. The team set new team season-highs on the balance beam as well as the floor exercise, but could not overcome some early mistakes on vault and bars to fall to 5-3 on the season. Junior Ashley Williams won the all-around competition with a season-high score of 39.225. Williams and Kara Kapernekas each scored a 9.875 on the balance beam to tie for first place. Williams and freshman Cara Pomeroy tied for second place on the uneven bars with identical 9.850s.

Bama Comfortable at Home
After struggling on the road early in the season, Alabama native Ashley Williams has performed well at Illinois' two home meets. The 2002 Big Ten Freshman of the Year has posted all-around scores of 39.200 and 39.225 in the Orange and Blue's two home meets. Last weekend vs. #5 Iowa State Williams took the all-around crown also tied for first on beam (9.875) and second on bars (9.850). On Jan. 25 Williams' 39.200 was good for second place against Big Ten rival Michigan State.

Home Sweet Home
After having four of their first five meets away from home, the Illini will be happy to be in the friendly confines of Huff Hall once again this weekend. Saturday's match-up with Ball State will be the second of three consecutive meets at Huff. In their only previous home competitions of the season, the Illini have posted their top two scores of the year (195.700 and 194.925).

Vaulting Back To Form?
Illinois' all-time all-around record holder Kara Kapernekas has been unable to compete on vault so far this season due to a back injury, however that may soon change. The senior co-captain has been training on vault recently and competed on the event as an exhibition competitor vs. Iowa State, scoring a 9.625. On the other three events this season, Kapernekas, has been very solid. She has won four event titles so far this season, three on beam and one on bars. Last week vs. Iowa State, she took first place on the beam with a season-high tying 9.875 and also posted a very impressive 9.925 to take third on floor.

Dann Gives Illini A Lift
Junior Margaret Dann played a key role in Illinois' strong finish against Iowa State on Valentine's Day. After the team struggled for the second straight meet on bars, Dann was first up on the next event, the balance beam. The St. Petersburg, Fla. native turned in one of her best performances as an Illini (9.800) to get the team back in a positive frame of mind. The Illini went on to post season-best scores on beam (49.050) and floor (49.275) to close out the meet. Coach Starkell was impressed with Dann's performance, calling it "the turning point of the meet". Over the last two seasons, Dann has been one of Starkell's most consistent beam performers, competing almost exclusively in the lead-off position.

Freshmen Keep Finding Success
Freshmen Danye Botterman and Cara Pomeroy continued their rookie success last week vs. Iowa State. Pomeroy was outstanding on the uneven bars for the fourth straight meet. She scored a 9.850 to tie for second place. So far in six meets, Pomeroy has five event titles, two on beam and three on bars. Botterman won the vault in her first three collegiate meets with scores of 9.825 or better. Last weekend she established a new season-high of 9.875. The New Lenox, Ill. native has also been one of the Orange and Blues top performers on floor.

Wild Flooring The Competition
After an injury plagued freshman season, sophomore Katie Wild has been a regular on the UI beam and floor line-ups in 2004. The Mendota Heights, Minn. native has been the Orange and Blue's most consistent floor exercise performer, having scored at least a 9.725 in each competition this season. She has scored a career high of 9.875 on two occasions, once vs MSU and also last weekend vs. Iowa State. Wild has also turned in back-to-back outstanding performances on beam. She scored a 9.800 to take third at the Cardinal Classic and then tied a career-high with a 9.825 to take third vs Iowa State. She opened the season with 9.75 on beam to a win the event vs. Northern Illinois.

In The Rankings
The Fighting Illini dropped one spot to #36 in the latest GymInfo rankings with a season-average score 194.192. The Orange and Blue rank 40th on vault (48.450), 43rd on bars (48.224), 28th on beam (48.617) and 29th on floor (48.921). Ball State is currently ranked 51st with a 192.554 average. Next week the rankings will switch from average score to the Regional Qualifying Score (RQS), which takes a team's top six scores, a miminum of three being on the road, throws out the high and averages the other five.

Tough Region
The Fighting Illini compete in one of the toughest regions in the country, the South Central. The region currently has six of the country's Top-24 teams, including powerhouses like Nebraska (9th), Missouri (10th), Oklahoma (12th), Arizona (14th), Arkansas (17th) and Arizona State (24th). Illinois currently ranks 7th in the region.

Up Next
The Illini have rare two-meet weekend next week. First, the Illini will host Illinois State in another double-dual with the UI men at Huff hall on Feb. 27. They will then travel to Lincoln, Neb. on Feb. 29 to compete against #9 Nebraski, #5 Florida and #24 Arizona State at the Master's Classic.