University of Illinois
Orange & Blue
Orange Team Prevails 10-9 in Orange and Blue Exhibition
November 9, 2019 | Men's Gymnastics, Women's Gymnastics
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's and women's gymnastics programs hosted their annual Orange and Blue Exhibition inside Huff Hall on Saturday afternoon in front of a pumped-up crowd. The event gave fans a sneak peek of what is to come for the upcoming 2020 season.
"As far as for our team, it's really early, this is always a check-up for us, reminding us like 'Hey, the season's around the corner.' Honestly though I thought our guys showed up really well, and I was impressed," said head coach Justin Spring. "We've got some injuries this year, so we're going to ask a lot from guys who normally wouldn't be in events to step up, and we actually put a few of those guys in tonight, and they did well."
The meet served as a dress rehearsal for Illinois, with 29 Illini competing in the meet. Instead of the typical scoring, fellow student-athletes served as judges and were given orange and blue flags to determine the winner of each event. If there was a tiebreak, the decision came down to the audience ultimately.
"This is an exhibition, and we wanted them to enjoy it and get their jitters out," said head coach Nadalie Walsh. "I think they surprised themselves. We've been working on that in the gym. I didn't see jitters. I saw excitement."
The Orange Team clinched the title 10-9 as Karen Howell claimed the last Orange Team point with her impressive performance on uneven bars.
After the meet, the team signed autographs and met with fans.
Results
| Event | Team Orange | Team Blue | Winner | |
| UB | Nicole Biondi | vs. | Morgan Bixler | Orange Team |
| SR | Joel Diaz | vs. | Max Diab | Orange Team |
| FX | Karen Howell | vs. | Kylie Noonan | Blue Team |
| PH | Tyler Schmidt | vs. | Emanuele Muehlhauser | Blue Team |
| BB | Julia Waight | vs. | Rachel Borden | Orange Team |
| FX | Connor McCool | vs. | Max Diab | Blue Team |
| UB | Mia Takekawa | vs. | Lexi Powe | Orange Team |
| HB | Evan Manivong | vs. | Sebastian Abedi | Blue Team |
| BB | Brittany Jones | vs. | Kasey Meeks | Blue Team |
| PB | Hamish Carter | vs. | Jordan Kovach | Blue Team |
| FX | McKenzie Eddy | vs. | Rae Balthazor | Orange Team |
| PB | Danny Graham | vs. | Sebastian Abedi | Orange Team |
| BB | Shaylah Scott | vs. | Kylie Noonan | Orange Team |
| FX | Evan Manivong | vs. | Zach Ziolkowski | Blue Team |
| PH | Ian Skirkey | vs. | Michael Paradise | Blue Team |
| BB | Mia Takekawa | vs. | Arayah Simons | Orange Team |
| SR | Danny Graham | vs. | Satchel Hudson | Orange Team |
| UB | Karen Howell | vs. | Olivia O'Donnell | Orange Team |
| HB | Hamish Carter | vs. | Jordan Kovach | Blue Team |
Up Next
The Illinois men's team will begin the regular season, as they travel to the Windy City Invitational, hosted by UIC, on Saturday, Jan. 18, in Chicago, Ill. The meet is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Illini women officially kick off the 2019 campaign on the road against Missouri and Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, Jan. 4. The tri-meet will be held in Columbia, Mo. at 4 p.m. CT.
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