Feb. 29, 2008
Complete Results
AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 25 Fighting Illini got off to a good start, but struggled in the final two events in a 195.825-193.225 loss to No. 12 Auburn at Beard-Eaves Coliseum Friday night. Juniors Lindsey Smith and Julie Crall each won event titles, and sophomore Nicole Cowart took second in the all-around to highlight the evening for Illinois.
Illinois started off strong on the uneven bars (48.850) and vault (48.775), posting its second highest scores of the season on each event. On bars sophomore Sarah Schmidt led the way with a season-high 9.825 to tie for second place. Buckley and Cowart also turned in solid 9.800s to tie for fourth place, and Crall earned a career-high 9.750 on the event.
On vault, Smith won her first-career event title with a career-high 9.850, tying Auburn's Lindsey Puckett for top honors. Freshman Allison Buckley scored a 9.800 to place fourth and senior Michelle McGrady a 9.775 to take fifth as the Orange and Blue looked good through two rotations. Auburn held a slim 97.775-97.625 lead halfway through the competition.
"We were feeling good at the midpoint of the competition tonight," said Illinois head coach Bob Starkell. "We were probably headed toward our highest team score this year."
Things turned sour for the Illini in rotation three, however, as they were forced to count a fall on floor and posted a total of 48.375 to fall out of the team race. Cowart led the way on floor with a season-high 9.850 to tie for second place. Schmidt also turned in a solid performance in her return to the event after suffering an ankle injury a few weeks ago, tying her career-high with a 9.825 to place fourth. Freshman Lashlee Morris also turned in a solid floor routine (9.750).
In the final rotation, Illinois had to count several mistakes en route to a season-low 47.225 on the balance beam. Crall was the bright spot on the event, winning her fourth beam title of the season with a 9.850. Morris also performed well, tying her career-high with a 9.800.
Cowart had her top all-around score of the season (39.050) on her way to a second place finish behind Auburn's A.J. Mills (39.400).
"Nicole (Cowart) had a strong all around performance," Starkell said. "She brought a lot of energy to the team tonight and showed some strong leadership. Nicole has struggled on floor recently, but tonight she did a really good routine."
Despite the loss to the Tigers, Starkell feels his team is close to putting all together as the stretch run approaches.
"We're slowly but surely getting Sarah Schmidt (ankle) and Marijka Botterman (knee) back to full strength," Starkell said. "That means we are close to getting back to our full potential."
Illinois will return to Huff Hall next Saturday, March 8, for another double-double meet alongside the Illini men. The women will host No. 14 Missouri, while the fifth-ranked Illini men host Illinois-Chicago on the other side of the gym. Action begins at 2 p.m.
