April 15, 2011

Results |  Photo Gallery  | Watch Fernandez's Beam Routine | Fernandez Interview | Meet Highlights

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Coming into the weekend, Illinois gymnasts had earned five All-America honors in school history. On Friday at the NCAA Championships, the Illini more than doubled the record books by racking up six All-America accolades during the afternoon semifinal session at the Wolstein Center. Senior Melissa Fernandez led the way with a pair of first-team All-America honors, tying for fourth on beam to advance to the event final for the second time in her career and matching her career high (39.375) to become the program's first All-American in the all-around by tying for third.

"To have six All-Americans at nationals speaks volumes about the work we put in this season and the future of our gymnastics program," interim head coach Kim Landrus said. "It just shows how the program continues to progress every single year. Today was also an outstanding reward for Melissa after an outstanding career. She has done such a phenomenal job during her four years, and it is so exciting for her final meet to be the best meet of her career."

Fernandez also was a second-team All-American on floor along with senior Allison Buckley and sophomore Alina Weinstein while junior Kelsey Joannides garnered the distinction on vault for placing among the top eight in the session. Fernandez, who also qualified for the beam final in 2009 to pick up her first All-America award, set an Illinois record with three All-America honors at a single meet and now owns four career awards, the most in school history. Buckley is second all-time with three for her career while Weinstein and Joannides nabbed the honor for the first time.

"I am so happy and grateful for this opportunity again," Fernandez said. "It was a fantastic experience and feels great to make event finals. I just took it one event at a time and just enjoyed the experience."

As a team, the Illini placed sixth in the session with a 195.100 in their second-ever appearance at the national meet. The Illini finished strong by recording a pair of totals over 49 on floor and vault but were forced to count a fall on beam. Oklahoma won the semifinal with a score of 196.775 followed by Michigan in second with a 196.700 and UCLA in third at 196.500 to qualify for Saturday's team finals. Arkansas and Georgia were tied for fourth at 195.450.

"We got off to a shaky start, but came back and could not have done a better job on floor and vault," Landrus said. "They were able to put the beam rotation behind them and really rock the final two events. We have worked extremely hard all season to get to this stage and I am extremely proud of their performances today."

After sitting out the first rotation on a bye, Illinois kicked off the meet on bars with a 48.825. Fernandez paced the effort with a 9.850 to tie for 11th while Buckley checked in as the next best Illini with a 9.800. Sophomore Jaclyn Kantecki turned in a 9.750 followed by Weinstein at 9.725 and freshman Sarah Fiedler at 9.700.

During the third rotation, Fernandez shined on beam with a 9.850, but the Illini were forced to count a fall after Buckley and Weinstein each fell on the event. The Orange and Blue turned in a 47.950 after Joannides' 9.775, freshman Amber See's 9.725 and Fiedler's 9.600.

The Illini were on their second bye during rotation four before moving to floor exercise, where they bounced back with a 49.150. Buckley led the way with a 9.875 to tie for sixth while Fernandez and Weinstein tied for eighth at 9.850. See added a 9.825 and senior Samantha Perino chipped in a 9.750 in her final meet leading off the lineup.

On the final event of the afternoon, the Orange and Blue matched a season high and tallied their top event score with a 49.175 on vault. Joannides was the top Illini, tying for seventh with a 9.875, followed by Buckley at 9.850. Fernandez and See each scored a 9.825 while Weinstein wrapped up the scoring with a 9.800.

The top four individuals on each event from each of Friday's sessions, including ties, will compete in Sunday's event finals at 12 p.m. CT. Check fightingillini.com for photos and more information on the NCAA Championships.

Illinois All-Americans

T-3. Melissa Fernandez, First Team in All-Around - 39.375
T-4. Melissa Fernandez, First Team on Beam - 9.850*
T-6. Allison Buckley, Second Team on Floor - 9.875
T-7. Kelsey Joannides, Second Team on Vault - 9.875
T-8. Melissa Fernandez, Second Team on Floor - 9.850
T-8. Alina Weinstein, Second Team on Floor - 9.850

*advances to Sunday's individual event final