May 12, 2008

2008 Season Highlight Video

2008 Photo Galleries

2008 Illini Ink Blogs

Complete Season Wrap-Up Notes (PDF)

2008 Illinois Gymnastics Season Wrap-Up

Quick Hits
• All-American Girl: Illini freshman Allison Buckley became Illinois' first NCAA All-American by earning second team honors on the balance beam with a sixth-place finish in session I of the NCAA Championships

• Georgia On Their Minds: Buckley and sophomore Nicole Cowart both competed in the all-around at the National Championships in Athens, Ga. They are just the sixth and seventh Illini to advance to the National Championships since the NCAA began sponsoring the event in 1982.

• Magic #15: Illinois finished the season ranked 15th in the Gyminfo Rankings, marking the highest national ranking in program history.

• Making Noise in the Postseason: As a team, the Illini took second place (195.750) at the Big Ten Championships, the highest finish in the conference meet since winning the competition in 1990. The Illini then took third place (195.425) at the NCAA South Central Regional, the highest regional finish in program history, narrowly missing advancing as a team to the NCAA Championships for the first time.

• Buckley Racks-up Postseason Honors: In addition to reaching All-America status, Buckley became the second Illini in school history to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the first Illini to be named the South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year. In addition, Buckley was also honored as a first team All-Big Ten selection and was named Illinois' Female Newcomer of the Year for all sports at the annual Scholar-Athlete Banquet.

• Crall Wins Big Ten Title: Junior Julie Crall won the 2008 Big Ten balance beam title with a career-high tying 9.900 to give the Illini an individual Big Ten champion for the second consecutive season. Former Illini Cara Pomeroy won the 2007 Big Ten uneven bars title to break an eight-year title draught.

• Kruse Named Regional Assistant Coach of the Year: Illinois assistant coach Amy Kruse became the third member of the coaching staff to be named Regional Assistant Coach of the Year. Fellow assistant Kim Landrus won the honor back in 2005 and current head coach Bob Starkell received the accolade in 1998.

Dynamic Duo Excels at Nationals
Allison Buckley and Nicole Cowart both held their own at the National Championships in Georgia. Buckley competed in the afternoon session, scoring a 9.825 on the balance beam to tie for sixth and earn second team All-America honors. She became the second All-American in school history, joining former Olympian Nancy Thies, and is the first to earn the accolade at the NCAA Championships (Thies was an AIAW All-Amercan on bars in 1976, before the NCAA began sponsoring women's championships). Only a small step on her dismount prevented Buckley from reaching the event finals and earning first team All-America status. Buckley also scored a 9.775 on floor, but a fall on bars put a dent in her all-around score of 38.525.

Cowart was solid on all four events, finishing with a 38.925 all-around score to finish 15th in the evening session. Her best event was the uneven bars, where she scored a 9.800. Both Buckley and Cowart advanced to the NCAA Championships by scoring a 39.100 at the South Central Regional to tie for third place.

Illini Finish Third at the South Central Regional
The Illini came away with its best-ever regional finish of third place by posting a team total of 195.425 at the 2008 South Central Regional Championship in Norman, Okla. The Illini had a chance to earn one of the two coveted spots to nationals entering the final rotations, but fell just short. Illinois was led by freshman Allison Buckley and sophomore Nicole Cowart, who each scored a 39.100 to tie for third and earn individual bids in the all-around competition to the NCAA Championship. Buckley also finished in a tie for fifth on floor with a 9.850, while sophomore Sarah Schmidt received a spot on the podium for her 9.850 on bars to tie for third place. In the team race, No. 4 Alabama (197.300) took the regional crown and No. 10 Oklahoma (195.875) edged the Illini (195.425) for the second spot and a trip to the National Collegiate Championships. No. 16 Boise State (194.400), Southeast Missouri State (193.850) and No. 19 Arizona State 193.200 rounded out the six-team field. Following the meet, Buckley became the first Illini to be named Regional Gymnast of the Year.

Illini Take Second at Big Tens
Illinois started its late-season surge with a second place finish at the 2008 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., its highest finish since winning the competition in 1990. The Illini scored a 195.750, their top score of the season and sixth best score in school history, to finish behind No. 4 Michigan (196.750) and just ahead of No. 23 Penn State (195.625). No. 17 Michigan State finished fourth (195.050) and was followed by No. 22 Iowa in fifth (194.775), No. 25 Minnesota in sixth (194.425) and Ohio State in seventh (194.075). In addition to the team success, Julie Crall won the balance beam title with a career-high tying 9.990 and Allison Buckley was just behind with a 9.875 to tie for second, leading the Illini to a season-high team score of 49.050 on the event. Sarah Schmidt garnered a third place tie on the uneven bars with a career-high tying 9.900, while Buckley and Lindsey Smith finished in a four way tie for fourth place on vault with 9.85s, to lead the team to the third best score in program history on the event.

Six Gymnasts Named Academic All-Big Ten
Six Illinois gymnasts were named to the 2007-08 Academic All-Big Ten team. Marijka Botterman, Nicole Cowart, Julie Crall, Kim Kruk, Michelle McGrady and Lindsey Smith were all honored for having at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average and earning a varsity letter in gymnastics.

Illini Vault Into Record Book
The Illini set four of the top-10 vault scores in school history this season, including a new record for the second consecutive season against the UIC Flames. Last year, the Illini put up a 49.125 against UIC in early March, this year they did one better and totaled a 49.150 on vault on March 15 against the Flames. Four Illini set or tied their career-highs on the event and another set a season-high to take the top spot in the record book. Freshman Allison Buckley led the way with a career-best 9.900 to win the individual crown, while senior Michelle McGrady (CH 9.875), freshman Melissa Fernandez (CH 9.800), junior Marijka Botterman (SH 9.800), sophomore Nicole Cowart (9.775) and sophomore Sarah Schmidt (CH 9.725) all contributed to the record as well. The Illini also scored a 49.100 at the Big Ten Championships, which ranks in a tie for third in the Illini record books and a 49.000 against both Missouri and Denver which ties for seventh.

Buckley Bursts onto Scene
Freshman Allison Buckley wasted no time establishing herself as one of the premier gymnasts in the Big Ten Conference and in the nation. The Schaumburg, Ill., native turned in one of the best freshmen freshman seasons in Illini history. Buckley became Illinois' first NCAA All-American by earning second team honors on the balance beam at the NCAA Championships. She was honored as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a first team All-Big Ten selection, the South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year and the UI Female Newcomer of the Year. She competed in the all-around in every meet on the season, capturing 19 individual titles (vault-4, bars-1, beam-2, floor-7, AA-5), which is the third-highest total in school history behind only former Olympian Nancy Thies' totals of 34 and 24 in 1976 and '77, respectively.

Buckley was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week (March 19) after winning four individual titles at UIC (vault, beam, floor, AA) and nearly breaking the Illinois all-around record. Her score of 39.450 was just shy of Ashley Williams' record of 39.475. Just a week earlier she scored a 39.375 in the all-around, which equaled the second best score in school history at the time. She finished the year with three of the top five all-around scores in school history. In addition, her top score of 9.925 on beam equaled the second best score on the event in school history.

She finished the regular season ranked 21st in the nation on floor (9.885), 28th in the all-around (39.270), 36th on beam (9.865) and 46th on vault (9.860).

Crall-ing Back
Junior Julie Crall won the 2008 Big Ten balance beam title with a career-high tying 9.900 on the final performance of the night. Crall had a successful return in 2008 after suffering a season-ending Achilles' tear on March 9, 2007. Crall had been a top performer for the Illini in each of her first two seasons, earning second team All-Big Ten honors in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns, before the injury.

The Cincinnati native returned stronger than ever this season, winning her first uneven bars title with a career best 9.850 at the State of Illinois Classic. She finished with seven event titles this season, including six on her signature event, the balance beam, ending the year ranked 15th in the nation and fourth in the South Central Region on the event (9.875 RQS).

Schmidt, Botterman Give Illini A Boost
Sophomore Sarah Schmidt came back strong following her midseason ankle injury by finishing third on the uneven bars at the Big Ten Championships (9.900) and at the NCAA South Central Regional (9.850). She finished the season with four individual titles (3 on bars, 1 in all-around) and 12 top-3 finishes.

In addition to Schmidt, Marijka Botterman also shined for the Illini toward the end of the season. Botterman made her first appearance in the all-around competition at the Big Ten Championships, posting a 39.025 to finish eighth. She also finished tenth on vault and beam with a score of 9.800 on each.

Youth Served
The 2008 season was one of the best in school history and the future certainly looks bright for even more success. At the NCAA South Central Regional, only two of 24 routines were by seniors (Krystal Melcarek's bars and Michelle McGrady's vault) and 15 of the 24 routines were by freshmen and sophomores.

In addition to freshman standout Allison Buckley, the three other Illini rookies made an immediate impact. Melissa Fernandez was a constant contributor on vault, beam and floor throughout the season and was at her best towards the end of the year. Lashlee Morris was in the beam line-up in every meet before suffering a foot injury prior to the March 8 meet against Mizzou, but she returned to the event and posted a personal-best 9.800 at the State of Illinois Classic. Morris also competed on bars and floor at times this season. Samantha Perino saw time in the floor line-up earlier this year, and is pushing to crack the line-up on beam next season. Sophomore Laura Woolf also made her first appearances for the Illini early this season, cracking the vault line-up on two occasions.

More Help is on the Way
Illinois signed two student-athletes to letters of intent for the 2008-09 season. Kelsey Joannides of Frederick High School in Frederick, Md., and Hannah Welker of Knoch High School in Butler, Pa. each signed letters of intent with the Illini in November. Joannides competed for Frederick Gymnastics Club and Welker for Butler Gymnastics Club.