April 21, 2010
Complete Illinois NCAA Championship Notes (PDF) 
NCAA Championships Central
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Complete Rotation Order for Thursday's Sessions (PDF)
Illinois at the 2010 NCAA National Collegiate Championships
April 22-24, 2010 // Stephen C. O'Connell Center // Gainesville, Fla. // Hosted by the University of Florida
Schmidt, Buckley Earn National Bids
Senior Sarah Schmidt and junior Allison Buckley will head to the NCAA Gymnastics Championships this weekend in Gainesville, Fla., after both earned a national bid at the NCAA Central Regional in Kentucky. Schmidt advanced as the top all-arounder on a non-qualifying team, posting a 39.225 to finish third overall behind a pair of gymnasts from No. 1 Alabama. Buckley tied for first on vault with a 9.900 and qualified for nationals as an event specialist. Schmidt will make her second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships after Illinois qualified as a team for the first time in school history last season while Buckley will return to nationals for the third straight year after also qualifying as an individual all-arounder in 2008 as a freshman. Both Schmidt and Buckley eye their second career All-America accolades this weekend after Schmidt notched second-team honors on floor in 2009 and Buckley became Illinois' first ever NCAA All-American with second-team honors on beam in 2008.
The Championships, which kick-off Thursday, April 22, are being hosted at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the University of Florida campus. Schmidt and Buckley will both compete in Session 1 (1 p.m. ET), with Schmidt starting on vault and rotating with Oklahoma and Buckley joining LSU on vault during rotation 3. The top three teams from each Thursday session will advance to the Super Six team finals on Friday, April 23 (6 p.m. ET) and the top four individuals including ties on each event from Thursday's competition will move onto Saturday's event finals (6 p.m. ET). The individual all-around crown will be decided on Thursday by combining the the scores from the two sessions. To earn All-America status, an individual must finish in the top eight on an event or in the all-around, with the top four earning first team honors and the next four picking up second team honors.
Championships Schedule
Thursday, April 22 - Team Preliminaries and All-Around Finals
1 p.m. (ET) - Session I - Oklahoma, UCLA, Oregon State, Nebraska, LSU, Utah
7 p.m. (ET) - Session II - Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Michigan, Missouri, Stanford
Friday, April 23 - Super Six Team Final - 6 p.m. (ET)
* Top three teams from each of Thursday's sessions
Saturday, April 24 - Individual Events Finals - 6 p.m. (ET)
** Top four individuals on each event (plus ties) from each of Thursday's sessions
CBS to Televise Championships
The 2010 NCAA Gymnastics Championships will be broadcast by CBS on a tape delay basis. The broadcast is set to air Saturday, May 8 from 3-5:00 p.m. (ET). The CBS talent will be Tim Brando and Amanda Borden. A live stream of all sessions will also be available via ncaasports.com.
Schmidt to Rotate with Oklahoma; Buckley Competes with LSU
In a random draw conducted by the NCAA, Schmidt will be rotating with Oklahoma in Session I while Buckley will compete on vault with LSU during rotation 3. The Sooners will rotate in Olympic order, starting on vault and ending on floor exercise.
Illinois at the National Championships
The Illini qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history last year and Buckley and Schmidt are the eighth and ninth Illini to qualify individually since the NCAA began sponsoring the event in 1982. The Orange and Blue sent two individuals to nationals in both 2004 (Cara Pomeroy and Ashley Williams) and 2008 (Buckley and Nicole Cowart) while prior to 1982, when nationals were sponsored by the AIAW, UI had five individuals compete at the national meet.
Four total Illini have earned All-America status in school history. Nancy Thies was an AIAW All-American in 1976 on the uneven bars while Allison Buckley was the first NCAA All-American in school history in 2008 when she earned second-team honors on the balance beam. In 2009, a pair of gymnasts were All-Americans, as Melissa Fernandez became the school's first first-team selection on beam and Sarah Schmidt was named to the second team on floor.
Illini Place Third at Central Regional
Senior Sarah Schmidt led the No. 13 Fighting Illini to a third-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional in Kentucky, posting a 39.225 in the all-around to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Schmidt advanced as the top all-arounder on a non-qualifying team, while junior Allison Buckley tied for the top spot on vault with a 9.900 to qualify for nationals in the event. As a team, Illinois turned in a 195.425 at the Memorial Coliseum and placed third behind regional champion No. 1 Alabama (197.400) and runner-up No. 12 Nebraska (195.875), who earned the two automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
Schmidt finished third overall in the all-around behind Geralen Stack-Eaton (39.550) and Ashley Priess (39.525) of Alabama. The Hartland, Wis., native earned the runner-up spot on floor with a 9.925 and posted scores of 9.825 on vault, 9.750 on bars and 9.725 on beam. Buckley finished in a five-way tie for first on the vault. She is now a two-time regional champion after also winning the beam crown at the 2009 West Regional and is one of only three Illini regional champions in school history along with Nancy Thies and Cara Pomeroy.
Four Illini, Starkell Earn Conference Honors
Four Illini earned All-Big Ten honors, as selected by the coaches, with senior Sarah Schmidt and juniors Allison Buckley and Melissa Fernandez being named to the first team and senior Nicole Cowart on the second team. Three first-team selections is the most by any team this season, and four overall selections tied for the top spot in the conference with Michigan, who had two first-teamers and a pair of second-teamers. Head coach Bob Starkell was named Big Ten co-Coach of the Year for the second straight year along with Michigan's Bev Plocki. This marks the third time he has been awarded the honor after also garnering the accolade outright in 2005.
At the Big Ten Championships, Illinois had high expectations, but fell short of its goal, recording a sixth-place finish at St. John Arena on March 27. The Illini dealt with uncharacteristic mistakes and an injury on vault, but a solid finish on beam gave the squad a final score of 195.025 and placed the Orange and Blue ahead of host Ohio State (194.700). Illinois suffered a setback during rotation three on vault when junior Melissa Fernandez injured her leg on the landing, forcing her out of the lineup for the final two events, bars and beam. The Eudora, Kan., native tallied a 9.850 despite the injury and tied for third overall with junior Allison Buckley on the event.
Buckley's Breaking Records
Against Penn State on Feb. 6, junior Allison Buckley set the school record in the all-around with a 39.525, breaking Ashley Williams' previous mark of 39.475 achieved in 2004. Buckley owns five of the top-eight all-around scores in UI history, with a 39.450 in 2008, a 39.425 in 2009 and most recently, a 39.400 against Minnesota on Feb. 20 and at the State of Illinois Classic on March 20. The Schaumburg, Ill., native also holds the balance beam record with a 9.950, which she set in winning the crown at the 2009 West Regional Championship.
In the record-breaking Feb. 6 meet vs. the Lady Lions, Buckley matched her career high on vault (9.900) to take home the title, tallied season-highs on bars (9.850) and beam (9.925) and turned in a 9.850 on floor. For the season, she has scored over a 39 in the all-around eight times and has tied her career high on vault (9.900) four times and bars (9.850) three times. Buckley leads the Illini with 15 individual event titles, giving her 42 for her career, which rankes her second on the UI all-time list behind only Nancy Thies' 58.
Illinois Career Event Title Leaders
1. Nancy Thies (1976-77) - 58
2. Allison Buckley (2008-pres.) - 42
3. Cara Pomeroy (2004-07) - 41
4. Denise Lamborn (1987-90) - 38
5. Heather Singalewitch (1987-90) - 34
6. Sarah Schmidt (2007-pres.) - 29
Schmidt Floors the Competition
Senior Sarah Schmidt, the 2009 Big Ten champion and a second-team All-American on floor, has picked up where she left off last year, winning the floor title at all six Big Ten dual meets this season. On Feb. 27 against Michigan, Schmidt matched her own school record of 9.950, which she set at the 2009 Big Ten Championships to become one of four Illini tied for the record. She has scored over a 9.825 in 10 of Illinois' 14 meets this season, including five 9.925s, to lead the Illini to a No. 11 ranking in the nation on floor exercise.
Schmidt has tied or set a career-high score on every event and earned multiple event titles at four meets this season, including a career-high three crowns against Ohio State on March 6. The Hartland, Wis., native took home the title on beam, floor and in the all-around, which was her second career all-around victory. Against Iowa on Jan. 30 and Michigan State on Feb. 14, Schmidt tied for the top spot on bars and earned the floor title. At the State of Illinois Classic on March 20, she won the bars title with the second-best score (9.975) in UI history and tied for the floor crown.
Against Missouri on March 13, Schmidt notched a career high on vault (9.850) and in the all-around (39.425), which is tied for the fourth-best mark in school history. She owns three of the top-nine all-around scores in school history after turning in a 39.375 against Ohio State on March 6 and a 39.400 against Penn State on Feb. 6.
Illini in the Rankings
The Illini will finish the season ranked No. 16 in the GymInfo rankings that will become available following this weekends championships. This will mark the fifth consecutive year that the Illini will finish the season ranked in the top-25. Illinois recorded its highest final ranking last season at No. 12, concluded the 2008 season at No. 15, finished 2007 as the 20th-ranked team and wrapped up the 2006 campaign at No. 25.
The Illini began the season ranked 13th in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll and sat at No. 13 for the final five weeks of the season. The preseason ranking marked the third consecutive year the program has earned its highest preseason ranking in school history. It is also the fourth time overall that the Illini have been in the nation's top 25 heading into a season, ranking 16th last year, 23rd in 2008 and 25th back in 1999 to begin the season.
Heading into regionals, the Illini ranked in the top 20 in each event nationally and were in the top-11 in three events. Individually, Sarah Schmidt boasted the highest national ranking, as she was tied for sixth nationally on floor. All four Orange and Blue all-arounders, Buckley (18th), Melissa Fernandez (22nd), Sarah Schmidt (T-24th) and Nicole Cowart (T-44th), rank in the Top 45 individual national rankings.
Buckley Earns Weekly Honor
Buckley was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week by the conference for the week of Jan. 18 after winning two event titles in the triangular meet at Nebraska. She finished each event with a score of 9.750 or better, while taking home the top spot in the all-around (39.275) and the balance beam (9.850). She also was the highest Illinois finisher in two other events, placing second on vault by tying her a career high with a 9.900 and third in the floor exercise with a 9.775.
Illini Earn 10 Academic All-Big Ten Selections
All 10 upperclassmen from the Illinois women's gymnastics squad were named to the Academic All-Big Ten team. The 10 honorees are the second most by any Big Ten gymnastics team this season and marks the second consecutive year that all of the upperclassmen from the Illinois women's gymnastics team received the honor. The Illini honored are seniors Nicole Cowart (accountancy), Sarah Schmidt (kinesiology), Laura Woolf (agri-accounting), and Lori Hamilton (accountancy), juniors Allison Buckley (kinesiology), Melissa Fernandez (kinesiology), Lashlee Morris (kinesiology) and Samantha Perino (psychology), and sophomores Kelsey Joannides (business) and Hannah Welker (broadcast journalism). Cowart is a three-time honoree, while Schmidt, Woolf and all four juniors earned recognition for the second straight year.
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