Jan. 16, 2008
Complete Illinois vs. Ohio State Notes in PDF Format
No. 19 Illinois (0-1) Hosts No. 17 Ohio State (1-0)
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008 // Huff Hall // Champaign, Ill. // 7 p.m.
Tickets Available at the Door
Adults $5 // UI Staff $4 // Youth $2 // UIUC Students Free
The Meet
The No. 19 Fighting Illini open up their home season this Saturday, Jan. 19, as they take on No. 17 Ohio State at 7 p.m. at Huff Hall. The meet with be a double-dual meet, with the #8 Illinois men's team taking on #7 Minnesota at the same time. The Illini topped the Buckeyes in both meetings last season, once head-to-head at Huff Hall (194.950-194.00), and again at the Big Ten Championships in University Park, Pa. (195.250-194.025).
Follow the Action
Live scoring will be available for Saturday's Illinois-Ohio State match-up at fightingillini.com
Looking Back
The Illini opened up their season last Friday against #6 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Illini fell to the Crimson Tide by a score of 196.300-192.775. Illinois began the meet strong with three solid rotations on bars (48.475), vault (48.325), and floor (48.525), before struggling in their beam rotation (47.450). Sophomore Nicole Cowart finished third in the all-around (38.500), while sophomore Sarah Schmidt tied a career best on floor, posting a 9.825.
About the Buckeyes
Ohio State comes into this Saturday's meeting as 17th-ranked team in the nation. The Buckeyes opened the season last Friday on the road with a 193.850-190.800 win over Maryland. That mark was the best season opening score in program history. The Buckeyes are led by senior Kaylan Clevinger, a 2007 NCAA Championship qualifier on uneven bars.
National Ranking
The Illini are currently ranked No. 19 in the GymInfo rankings, up four spots from last week. After ending the 2007 season No. 20, Illinois came into this year as the 23rd-ranked team in the nation, marking the highest preseason ranking in Illinois history. It marked the second time that the Illini have been in the nation's top-25 heading into a season, the last being in 1999 when the Illini were ranked 25th to start the season.
Crall-ing Back
Junior Julie Crall returned last week after suffering a season-ending Achille's tear on March 9 of last season. Crall had been a top performer for the Illini in each of her first two seasons earning her Second Team All-Big Ten honors in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns. In her first return to action at Alabama, Crall posted the Illini's top beam score of the evening of 9.775, as well as a 9.650 on the uneven bars.
Fresh Faces
Four talented freshman joined the 2008 Fighting Illini squad, with three of them seeing action in the first meet of the year. Allison Buckley competed in the all-around for Illini, posting two impressive scores on the vault (9.725) and floor (9.775). Melissa Fernandez cracked the line-up on the vault, beam, and floor, while Lashlee Morris saw action on the beam. Samantha Perino did not see action at Alabama, but is pushing to crack the line-up on both beam and floor.
Thinking Pink
On February 2 at 7 p.m. at Huff Hall, the Fighting Illini Women's Gymnastics team will be facing off against the Denver Pioneers with the focus being on more than just competition. The Illini team, joined by the American Cancer Society and Colleges Against Cancer, will be sponsoring several fun activities throughout the evening's meet against Denver to help raise awareness about cancer. Both squads will be wearing pink leotards, while fans are also encouraged to wear pink. In addition, pink pom-poms will be given out to the first 500 fans.
Big Ten Network To Feature Illinois Gymnastics
The Big Ten Network will be televising two regular season Fighting Illini Women's Gymnastics meets this season, plus the Big Ten Championships. On Jan. 29 at 7 p.m., the Big Ten Network will televise the Jan. 25 meeting between Illinois and Iowa in Iowa City. The network will then come to Champaign on Feb. 16 as the Illini take on Michigan State. This meet will air on Feb. 21 at 5 p.m.
