CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Orange and Blue will return to Huff Hall for their home finale, hosting the annual State of Illinois Classic this Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT. Illinois will compete alongside the top teams in the Land of Lincoln – Northern Illinois, Illinois State, and UIC. The event will stream live on BTN Plus and FloGymnastics.

Marketing Promos and Giveaways – Club Gymnastics Day

Calling all gymnastics clubs to attend our last home meet inside Huff Hall this Saturday! The gymnastics club that brings the most attendees to the meet will receive special Illini prize packs for gymnasts that are in eighth grade or below.

Following the meet, the Orange and Blue will be hosting their last free youth clinic of the season. It will take place at Huff Hall and last about 45 minutes. For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.

The Illini Dominate In-State Rivalry at the State of Illinois Classic

Illinois has won 11 consecutive State of Illinois Classic meets with two victories inside Huff Hall. The program's best team vault score (49.425) came at the State of Illinois Classic on February 21, 2014. Each event score and team score in the program's top-three records has come from this meet. Individually, three out of the five program's individual records have also come from this meet, including Alina Weinstein and Amber See's perfect 10s on vault in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Weinstein's 39.625 at the 2013 State of Illinois Classic also ties for the top all-around score in school history.

In a close contest last season, the Illini came from behind to win the State of Illinois Classic, topping host school UIC. Rae Balthazor won the all-around title with a 39.275, while former Illini Bridget Hodan earned two event titles on beam (9.850) and floor (9.850). The floor title was the first of Hodan's career.

Scouting the Opposition 

• Illinois State (2-8): With 30 years of coaching experience, Bob Conkling enters his thirteenth season as head coach at Illinois State… Conkling has secured 83 wins and sent eight student-athletes to the NCAA Regionals… Under Conkling's leadership, three student-athletes have been named MIC Senior of the Year and 17 gymnasts earned spots on the All-Midwest Independent Conference First Team… The roster is led by 2018 MIC Gymnast of the Year, Gabrielle Cooke, and MIC All-Conference honorees, Meredith LaRoche and Anna Marema. The Redbirds also welcome freshmen trio Charlise Doctor, Sofia Iribarren, and Mia Quigg.
• Northern Illinois (11-4): Sam Morreale is a former NIU gymnast himself, who served as assistant coach for the women's gymnastics program for nine years, before taking over as the head coach in June 2011… Entering his eighth season at the helm and 17th season overall, Morreale's teams have recorded six of its best overall team totals, including the top two highest team scores in school history… During Morreale's time at NIU, the Huskies have sent 24 gymnasts to the NCAA Regional competition, including three-time NCAA all-around participant (2008, 2009, and 2011) Holly Reichard… In the classroom, 13 NIU gymnasts have been selected to the Academic All-MAC team 22 times over the past five seasons… Last season, NIU had its program's highest MAC finish at second-place with a season-high 195.875. The Huskies also qualified three individuals – Ashley Potts, Katherine Prentice, and Anna Martucci to the 2018 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional… The squad is led by All-MAC honoree, Anna Martucci and All-MAC Championships team member, Amanda Bartemio. NIU also welcomes five fantastic freshmen to the team this season.
• UIC (13-3): The UIC Flames are led by co-head coaches and husband and wife duo, Peter and Mary Jansson, who are both entering their 30th season at UIC. For 11 seasons before their appointment as co-head coaches, Peter served as UIC's sole head coach while Mary was an assistant and choreography coordinator… As head coaches, the Janssons inherited a program in 1990 that had just a .205 overall winning percentage. Now the program has posted well over a dozen winning seasons… Under the Janssons, the Flames have attained 12 conference titles, 10 NCAA regional berths and two bids to the NIT. The Jansson's have also earned several coaching accolades for their work, including three-time NCAA South Central Regional Head Coach of the Year (2012, 1999, 1995) and two-time NCAA South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year (2001, 1999)… The Janssons have Illini connections with Peter serving as an assistant coach for three years (1984-86, 1989-90) and Mary as a student-athlete on the gymnastics team, where she earned Big Ten beam champion. Peter also assisted Illinois to their only Big Ten Championship team win in 1990… Last season, UIC qualified two individuals to the 2018 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional – Mikailla Northern and Serena Baker… The roster is led by NCAA Regional qualifiers Mikailla Northern and Serena Baker, along with MIC All-Conference honoree, Jenna Squillo. UIC also welcomes freshmen trio Tirzah Delph, Rylie Johnstone, and Alisa Sheremeta.

Last Time Out

Besting another season-high beam rotation this year, the Illini women's gymnastics team recorded 49.000+ on three events, but fell to a top-10 Denver team, 197.775-195.025.

The Orange and Blue had a solid vault rotation, recording their second 49.00+ of the season with a 49.000. Illinois was led by 9.875s from redshirt senior Mary Jane Otto and sophomore Kasey Meeks, who both tied for third. Sophomore Nicole Biondi also recorded a season-high 9.825 on vault for her stuck Yurchenko-half.

The seniors saved the day on bars with Otto recording a season-high 9.925 and Rachael Donovan matching a career-high 9.875 to anchor the lineup. Illinois is proving to have a team of beam queens this season, earning another season-high with a 49.175. Sophomore Rachel Borden led off the third rotation with a career-high 9.775. Sophomore Kylie Noonan kept the momentum going with a career-high 9.875 on beam. As the top Illinois beam score, freshman Shaylah Scott tied for third with a career-high 9.900.

Illinois finished the night with an entertaining floor rotation, posting their second-highest team total this season with 49.050. Sophomore Tessa Phillips posted a solid 9.800, while Otto capped off her night with a season-high 9.850. Noonan anchored Senior Night with an impressive 9.900, finishing third-overall.

All a Borden

From team manager to student-athlete, sophomore Rachel Borden was only on the team one day until she donned the Orange and Blue for an exhibition beam routine at Iowa on Feb. 16. An overnight sensation, Borden's 9.700 routine went viral and has taken the gymternet by storm with unique skills and originality that is unseen in collegiate gymnastics. The Big Five Meet hosted by Elevate the Stage marked the first time Borden made the beam lineup, leading off the Illini in their first podium meet with a 9.625. Borden made her home debut vs. Denver on March 1, where she recorded a career-high 9.775 on beam.

The in-state product from Naperville, Ill. spent her club career at the prominent and elite Chicago area-based club, Legacy Elite Gymnastics. Under the guidance of owners and head coaches, Jiani Wu and Yuejiu Li, Borden spent five years as a level 10 gymnast and persisted through the ups and downs of the sport to reach her goal of qualifying to the Junior Olympic National Championships during her senior year in 2017.

The Chemical Engineering major's inspirational story has gotten the attention of national media, such as FloGymnastics, Inside Gymnastics, and the Gymternet podcast. With her cast handstand to reverse planche mount and perfect toe point, Borden puts the "artistic" back in Artistic gymnastics. 

Otto Nominated for AAI Award 

Redshirt senior Mary Jane Otto was named one of the 25 nominees for the prestigious AAI Award. The preliminary ballot will be narrowed down to six finalists later this season. The award recognizes the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the nation and is considered the "Heisman Trophy" of gymnastics. The honor is voted on by NCAA women's gymnastics head coaches and sponsored by American Athletic, Inc. (AAI).

A sixth-year gymnast, Otto exemplifies leadership in the gym and in the classroom. Otto is a multiple All-American and All-Big Ten honoree that has been ranked in the top 10 in the nation on uneven bars and top 15 in the all-around. She has collected 23 individual titles on all four events and the all-around, including 12 on bars and seven on beam. Otto holds the second-highest bars score in Illinois history with a 9.975 and fifth all-around score with a 39.575.

Missing the first half of her freshman season due to injury, Otto hit all 16 routines, competing on vault, bars, and floor. She was also a key contributor to the 2014 NCAA Championship team, which was the last time Illinois qualified to NCAAs as a team. After a successful sophomore campaign, Otto battled injuries during the next two years before returning to the all-around at the Michigan State meet on Feb. 8, to capture her first all-around title since 2016.

Excelling in the classroom, the 2017 Big Ten bars champion is a four-time Scholastic All-American, three-time All-Academic Big-Ten honoree, and two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Graduated with a B.S. in Kinesiology in 2017 and Master of Public Health (MPH) in 2018. She will graduate in August with a Masters in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism degree.

For three years, Otto was a part of the Illinois Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Illini Leadership Program. She also gives back to the local community by volunteering with Buddy Walks, Feed My Starving Children, and the Hope Center.

Next Rotation 

The Orange and Blue close out their regular season in the NorCal area for two quad meets, where they will face two Pac-12 teams. First, the team will travel to Davis, Calif. next Friday to compete against No. 19 Washington, host UC-Davis, and Yale. This will be the first time in program history that the Illini have faced the UC-Davis Aggies.

With a quick turnaround, the squad will travel south to the Bay Area, facing host and No. 14 California, San Jose State, and Sacramento State on Sunday, March 17 in Berkeley, Calif. In 2014, the Illini defeated the Bears at the Minneapolis Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships. It has also been 26 years since Illinois and California have competed against each other during the regular season.

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Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest information on Fighting Illini Women's Gymnastics. Follow the Orange and Blue on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for complete coverage.