University of Illinois
Big Ten Championships
B1G Championships Await @IlliniWGym
March 17, 2016 | Women's Gymnastics
| #25 Illinois at Big Ten Championships | |
|---|---|
| When | March 19 // 11:05 AM CT |
| Where | Devaney Center | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Live Links | Live Stats | Championship Central |
| Watch Live | Big Ten Network or BTN2go |
| Team Information | Illinois Notes |
The No. 25 Fighting Illini women's gymnastics team will compete in the morning session of the 2016 Big Ten Championships Saturday, March 19, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Illinois will compete alongside Maryland, Iowa and Rutgers, with the Illini opening the meet on floor. The morning session is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. CT at the Devaney Center.
ILLINI NOTES
- Illinois ranks in the top-30 in the nation in three events: 8th on beam (49.250 regional qualifying score), 16th on floor (49.210 RQS) and 27th on vault (48.945 RQS).
- Sunny Kato ranks fourth in the nation and first in the Big Ten on beam (9.915 RQS).
- Kato has garnered a 9.900 or higher in the last five meets and tied her own school-record on beam with a 9.950 at Michigan State.
- Giana O'Connor ranks 24th in the nation and sixth in the Big Ten in the all-around with an RQS of 39.315.
- Illinois broke the school-record beam total at Michigan State with a 49.425. In the last four meets, the Illini have posted three beam scores that rank in the top-10 in program history.
- Illinois posed a season-best floor score (39.425) in the Illinois Classic, which ranks seventh best in program history.
- Erin Buchanan achieved her season-best all-around total of 39.250 last weekend at the Big Five Meet, claiming the vault and floor title. Buchanan is averaging above a 9.700 on vault and floor.
- Lizzy LeDuc achieved a season-best 39.300 at Michigan State and is averaging above a 9.700 on vault, beam and floor.
- Heather Foley is averaging above a 9.700 on vault and floor.
- O'Connor achieved her season-best all-around total of 39.525 vs. Iowa State and is averaging above a 9.800 on vault, beam and floor.
- O'Connor has garnered a team-high 21 event titles on the season, which ranks fourth most all-time in program history.
- UI sports a deep lineup with 13 of 14 gymnasts seeing competitive action this season.
LAST WEEK
The Illini narrowly missed out on qualifying for the evening session of the 2016 Big Ten Championships, placing fourth at the Big Five Meet, Saturday afternoon, inside St. Johns Arena. The Illini finished just .150 behind Ohio State, as the Buckeyes garnered the last spot in the evening session. Nebraska placed first with a 197.000, followed by Michigan State (196.350), Ohio State (196.100), Illinois (195.950) and Maryland (195.500). Erin Buchanan turned in several fantastic performances on the night, taking home two event titles. Buchanan claimed the vault crown with a 9.900 and shared the floor title with a 9.925.
KATO, O'CONNOR NAMED TO ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
Seniors Sunny Kato and Giana O'Connor were rewarded for their stellar seasons, earning 2016 First Team All-Big Ten honors. It marked the second consecutive season Kato and O'Connor earned First-Team selections. O'Connor garnered her fourth career All-Big Ten selection and second First-Team nod. Kato also achieved her fourth career All-Big Ten selection and third consecutive First-Team honor. The two are a part of a prestigious group of Illini gymnasts who have been an All-Conference selection in four competitive seasons. Kato and O'Connor join Cara Pomeroy and Allison Buckley as the only four to complete the feat.
KATO CONTINUES TO DAZZLE ON BEAM
Senior Sunny Kato is producing another spectacular season on beam. The 2015 NACGC/W Second-Team All-American selection on bars and beam, eyes her first Big Ten beam title. Kato, who has garnered two NCAA Regional bars crowns in her career, tied her own school-record on beam with a 9.950 at Michigan State this season. She has garnered five event titles on beam this season and has been very consistent of late, garnering a 9.900 or higher in the last five meets
O'CONNOR'S STRONG SEASON
Giana O'Connor has garnered a total of 21 event titles in the first nine meets of the season. O'Connor has claimed three or more titles (including all-around) in a meet four times this season, including earning four crowns at Rutgers. Her performance this season moved her into third on the Illinois career event title list with a total of 43 titles.
ILLINI EARN BIG TEN HONORS
Illinois has garnered a total of four Big Ten honors this season. The conference announced Giana O'Connor as Co-Gymnast of the Week and Sunny Kato as Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week on Monday, Feb. 29. A week earlier, on Monday, Feb. 22, the Big Ten announced senior Sunny Kato as the Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week and Lizzy LeDuc as the Freshman Gymnast of the Week. The awards marked the second and third Event Specialist award of Kato's career and the first Gymnast of the Week honor for O'Connor. LeDuc garnered her first Freshman of the Week honor.
ALL-AROUNDERS
UI has had four different gymnasts compete in the all-around this season. O'Connor has garnered six all-around titles, while Mary Jane Horth earned her first all-around title of the season at Penn State and finished in the top-3 in every meet she competed in. Erin Buchanan and Lizzy LeDuc have also competed in the all-around in multiple meets.
ILLINI DEBUTS
Six Illini have made their competitive debuts for the Orange and Blue this season. Four debuted in the season opener, including freshman Lizzy LeDuc, who competed in the all-around. Fellow freshmen Rachael Donovan and Haylee Roe competed on bars and floor, respectively, while sophomore Bridget Hodan led off on beam in her first competitive routine. Freshman Brielle Nguyen made her competitive debut on beam at Rutgers and freshman Julia Hutcherson made her competitive debut on vault against Michigan.
