Feb. 19, 2009

Complete Notes in PDF Format

#14 ILLINOIS at #24 Washington with #9 Oregon State & Eastern Michigan

The Meet
The No. 14 Fighting Illini (9-4) travel out west this Saturday, Feb. 21 to Seattle, Wash., for a quad meet at 9 p.m. CT. The meet will feature the Illini, along with No. 9 Oregon State, No. 24 Washington and Eastern Michigan.

Follow the Action
Live Scoring and video for Saturday's competition will be available at fightingillini.com.

Record Setting Day Against the Buckeyes
The Illini scored a school record 196.700 in the "Pink Meet" against Ohio State last Sunday, shattering the previous record of 196.300, set in 2004. After posting the program's best vault score in history at Missouri on Friday with a 49.175, the women came back with a 49.225 against the Buckeyes to break the school record for the second time in a three day span. Senior Marijka Botterman led the Illini charge on vault, tallying an individual school record of 9.95. The Orange and Blue went on to tie the third-best bars score in program history (49.25), led by Botterman and junior Sarah Schmidt, who shared the event title with 9.875s. Sophomore Melissa Fernandez led Illinois on beam (48.975), taking the event crown with a 9.9. Illinois equaled the school's sixth-best floor total (49.250) in the final rotation to take firm hold over the UI team score record.

Botterman Vaults Into Record Book
Senior Marijka Botterman broke Illinois' individual vault record last weekend against Ohio State with a 9.95. She shared the old record of 9.925 with Jessica Cole (2003) and Nicole Viernes (1996) already, but now sits alone at the top of the record book. The New Lenox, Ill., native is currently ranked eighth in the nation and first in the Big Ten Conference on the event (9.880 RQS). She also captured her second uneven bars title last weekend, tallying a career-high 9.875. Botterman now has seven titles this season, including five on vault.

Balancing Act
After struggling on the balance beam a year ago, the Illini have used off-season training to become one of the nation's elite on the event. The Illini are currently ranked 10th in the nation and first in the Big Ten conference with an RQS of 48.875, after finishing the 2008 campaign 30th nationally with a 48.304 average. The Orange and Blue have already topped the 49.0 mark twice this season, which only happened one time last year at the Big Ten Championships. The Illini return both Big Ten Beam Champion Julie Crall and beam All-American Allison Buckley this year, but, thus far, the Illini's success on the balance beam can be largely attributed to the addition of freshman Kelsey Joannides and the steady improvements of Melissa Fernandez, Nicole Cowart, and Lashlee Morris.

Illini In the Rankings
The Fighting Illini enter this weekend's meet ranked 14th in the GymInfo coaches poll, up three spots from last week, and fifth in the South Central Region. The Orange and Blue currently lead a very tight race of Big Ten teams in the national rankings, followed by Michigan (15th), Ohio State (16th), and Penn State (17th), Michigan State (22nd), and Iowa (23rd). Illinois' No. 16 ranking in the preseason coaches poll marked the highest preseason ranking in school history. It is the second consecutive year and third time overall that the Illini have been in the nation's top-25 heading into a season, ranking 23rd last season and 25th back in 1999 to start the season. The national polls are now based on each team's Regional Qualifying Score (RQS), rather than average score.

Illinois ranks 10th in nation and first in the Big Ten on beam. Marijka Botterman currently sits first in the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally on vault (9.865). Junior Sarah Schmidt is on top of the Big Ten uneven bars standings and ranks 27th nationally on the event (9.815). Sophomore Melissa Fernandez leads the conference on beam (9.820) and currently sits 18th nationally, while freshman Kelsey Joannides is currently just behind her in the conference rankings (9.815) and sits 20th nationally.

Joannides Excels Early in the Season
Freshman Kelsey Joannides has made her presence felt in the early part of her freshman campaign. The Frederick, Md., native has competed in the all-around in each meet for the Illini, capturing her first all-around title two weeks ago in Chicago. She also has two runner-up finishes (Penn St. & Iowa) and one third place finish (Michigan St.). Joannides has captured the beam title three times already this season, each with a score of 9.850. She is currently ranked 20th in the nation on beam (9.815) and 28th in the all-around (38.970).

Schmidt Earns Big Ten Honors
Junior Sarah Schmidt was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week by the conference (Jan. 19) after winning two individual titles with career-high scores of 9.900 on both bars and floor to lead the Illini in their upset over Penn State. Those scores were the highest in the conference that week on the two events. The Hartland, Wis., native also tallied her career-high on vault (9.825) against the Nittany Lions. Schmidt now has 12 career event titles, including seven on the uneven bars.

Healing Illini
The injury bug had limited several Illini in the early part of the season, but the Orange and Blue look to be gaining full strength. All-American Allison Buckley looks to be fully recovered from her offseason surgery. She competed in the all-around in both competitions last weekend, after being limited in the early part of the year. Junior Sarah Schmidt and sophomore Melissa Fernandez both look to be fully healed after several weeks of limited competition, as both looked strong in all their routines last weekend. Senior Julie Crall sat out both competitions last week due to illness, but should be ready to go in Seattle.

Looking Back
Last weekend, the Illini fell on the road to No. 13 Missouri, 196.626-195.000 on Friday, but bounced back with a school record score to take down No. 18 Ohio State, 196.700-195.675, in the "Pink Meet" at Huff Hall on Sunday. The Orange and Blue set or tied 17 season-highs and 10 career-highs against the Buckeyes. Allison Buckley and Marijka Botterman, each with a 9.875, led Illinois to a school vault record (49.175) against the Tigers, before it was broken again two days later against the Buckeyes (49.225), behind Botterman's individual school record of 9.95. Melissa Fernandez equaled UI's second-best beam score with a 9.925 to take the title against the Tigers, while Sarah Schmidt tied for second on bars (9.800) and floor (9.875).

Illini to Host Big Ten Championships
Illinois will host this year's Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 21, at 2 p.m. CT at Huff Hall. The Illini will welcome six other Big Ten teams, each vying for a chance to take home the conference crown. Illinois placed second last year, behind host Michigan, which has won 15 of the last 17 championships. The Illini are looking for their first conference title since 1990. Tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for students and are available through the Illinois ticket office.