Jan. 13, 2006

Final Stats

Ames, Iowa - The Fighting Illini women's gymnastics team fell to the No. 7 Iowa State Cyclones at the Hilton Coliseum Friday night by a score of 194.100-191.650. Even though Illinois found themselves on the losing end for the second straight week, head coach Bob Starkell saw some major improvements with his squad.

"We definitely faired better on every event tonight compared to last week," Starkell said. "There was more confidence on bars and vault which we did not have last week."

The Illini began the night on bars where junior captain Cara Pomeroy recorded a 9.750, tying the team's season high and finishing second place overall. Freshman Marijka Botterman recorded the Orange and Blue's second highest score in the event with a 9.625. Illinois finished the event with a team score of 48.075.

Starkell was very impressed with the performances of freshmen Marijka Botterman and Kim Kruk.

"Marijka and Kim had the biggest improvement from last week," said Starkell. "Kim was excellent all-around and Marijka had two great performances on bars and beam."

Sophomore Michelle McGrady and junior Danye Botterman led the Illini on vault, each scoring a 9.700. The Illini managed a team score of 48.275 in the event before moving to the floor routine where they struggled to keep composure, only recording a team score of 46.775. Kruk scored the highest in the event for the Illini, recording a 9.625.

The Illini finished the night strong with two impressive performances on beam by freshman Julie Crall and Pomeroy. For the second straight week, Crall managed to finish second on beam with a score of 9.800. Pomeroy had the Orange and Blue's second-best score of 9.750. Illinois ended the night with a team score of 48.415 on beam.

The Illini return to Champaign to prepare for their home opener on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. vs. Maryland. It will be a double dual that afternoon at Huff Hall, as the No. 2 men's squad will be facing No. 8 Minnesota at the same time.