The No. 19 Fighting Illini women's gymnastics team travels to Ann Arbor, Mich. this weekend to take on the No. 12 University of Michigan Wolverines on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. CT. Illinois travels to the Crisler Center for the fifth time in the past eight seasons for a regular season contest.
ILLINOIS NOTES
• Illinois moved up to No. 19 in this week's Road To Nationals rankings after a season-high 195.900 mark on Saturday.
• Sophomore Lizzy LeDuc earned four event titles (vault, beam, floor, all-around) at the Illinois Quad Meet on Saturday, Jan. 14.
• LeDuc is currently ranked 7th on the balance beam and 9th on the floor, nationally. The sophomore has a season average of 9.900 on both apparatuses.
• Junior Bridget Hodan notched a career-best 9.875 on the balance beam on Jan. 14.
• Sophomore Brielle Nguyen earned her first career individual event title at Missouri on Jan. 6. Nguyen posted a career-high 9.875 on the balance beam.
LAST TIME OUT
The Illinois women's gymnastics team opened the home portion of its schedule with a quad meet victory over Rutgers, Eastern Michigan and UIC on Saturday, Jan. 14. The Illini posted a season-high 195.900, led by sophomore Lizzy LeDuc who won the all-around, vault, beam and floor titles. LeDuc posted season-high scores on vault, beam and floor to earn a career-best 39.425 all-around total.
LIZZY LEDUC EARNS B1G GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
LeDuc earned the second Big Ten weekly honor of her career on Monday, Jan. 16. The Dallas, Texas native earned her first Big Ten Gymnast of the Week nod for her performance at Illinois' quad meet on Saturday, Jan. 14. LeDuc garnered event titles on vault, beam, floor and in the all-around competition on Saturday afternoon. A mark of 39.425 in the all-around, bested the Dallas, Texas native's previous career-best score of 39.300. The Illini sophomore also posted a career-high 9.850 on vault and tied her career-best score on the balance beam with a 9.925. LeDuc's 9.925 on beam is tied for the fifth-best score in program history.
ILLINI DEBUTS
Three Illini freshmen made their Orange and Blue debuts on Jan. 6 at Missouri. Karen Howell competed in the all-around, scoring a 37.150. Rae Balthazor made her debut on vault and bars, notching team-high scores of 9.750 and 9.800, respectively. Lindsay Dwyer earned a 8.600 on bars in her first collegiate appearance.
2017 OUTLOOK
Landrus and the Illini gymnasts are coming off a successful 2016 season. The Illini return 2015 All-American, Mary Jane Horth and 2016 NCAA National Championships individual qualifier, Lizzy LeDuc. The Orange and Blue have also welcomed assistant coach, Kristina Comforte to the Illini family as well as a highly-talent freshman class of Rae Balthazor, Lindsay Dwyer, Karen Howell, Brittany Jones. UI will return 19 routines from last season.
