PREVIEW
The No. 22 Fighting Illini travel to the Old Line State for their second straight road meet at Maryland on Sunday, February 2. The meet will be the third Big Ten competition of the season for both squads.
The Orange and Blue are coming off their second loss of the season, a 196.300-195.225 decision at No. 7 Minnesota on January 25. Senior Karen Howell registered an all-around score of 38.850 as the Illini fell to 0-2 in the conference.
Maryland finished second at a tri-meet at Ohio State on Saturday, finishing ahead of then-No. 23 Central Michigan and behind the host Buckeyes with a team score of 195.250. Audrey Barber is 16th nationally with an average all-around score of 39.375 for the Terrapins. As a team, Maryland is ninth in the country on bars with an average score of 49.158.
IN THE RANKINGS
Illinois enters the fifth week of the season at No. 22 in the Road to Nationals standings, based on average team score. The Illini dropped five spots from No. 17 in the Week 4 rankings after posting their lowest score of 2020 at 195.225. Illinois is ranked 17th in the country on beam, 20th on bars, 27th on floor, and 34th on vault.
Individually, freshman Mia Takekawa is tied for 18th in the country in the all-around with an average score of 39.325 and tied for 11th on beam (9.912). Freshman Arayah Simons is tied for 26th on floor (9.887).
ILLINOIS NOTES
• Mia Takekawa's 10.0 on beam on Jan. 9 remains one of just seven perfect scores on any event through the first four weeks of the season.
• Illinois' team score of 195.225 at Minnesota was its worst of the season. For comparison, 44 of the 81 teams in the NCAA have not had a single team score as high as 195.225 this season.
• Illinois' vault lineup in the first two meets of the year featured four freshmen, marking the first time the Illini had used four freshmen on one apparatus since February 24, 2008. The 2020 season is just the third since 2008 in which four freshmen officially competed for Illinois.
Follow the Illini
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.
