By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
Four recently inducted Hall of Famers and a bevy of other women's sports stars performed at the University of Illinois during the second decade of the new millennium, setting standards of excellence that current Illini are striving to reach today.
During this period, team success was prominent especially for the 2011 Fighting Illini volleyball national title runner-up, the 2011 Illinois soccer Big Ten Champions, the 2013 Fighting Illini track and field team that took home the conference indoor title, and the 2018 Illinois volleyball Final Four team.
Individual women's stars have also been plenty since 2010 including national champions in track and field and cross country for Angela Bizzarri and Ashley Spencer, Olympic gold medal-winning volleyball performances by Jordan Poulter and Michelle Bartsch, program first perfects 10s in women's gymnastics for Alina Weinstein and Mia Takekawa, and many more program record-setting performances.
Here is a chronological look at several of the most memorable Illini women's moments from 2010-to present:
Feb. 28, 2010: The Big Ten 5,000-meters title was won by UI's Angela Bizzarri. A day later, she was named Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Mar. 13, 2010: Competing in the 3,000-meter run, UI's Angela Bizzarri won the title at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Mar. 28, 2010: Illini women's basketball won its third NIT game in six days, defeating Missouri State, 65-53.
Apr. 8, 2010: After setting Illini career records for points and rebounds, Jenna Smith became the 14th overall pick in the WNBA Draft, chosen by the Washington Mystics.
Apr. 22, 2010: Coach Gary Winckler and Perdita Felicien were inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame.
May 4, 2010: Angela Bizzarri named women's Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor winner.
May 15, 2010: With a 10-0 victory over Minnesota in the regular-season finale, Illini softball extended its Big Ten winning streak to 13. Illinois went on to split four games in the NCAA Regional tournament and finish with a 45-8 record.
May 19, 2010: Distance runner Angela Bizzarri was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year. She won conference titles at 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the conference championship meet.
May 19, 2010: Illini's Terri Sullivan was named Big Ten's Softball Coach of the Year.
Sept. 24, 2010: Illini volleyball broke No. 2 Penn State's winning streak of 65 straight matches against Big Ten foes, winning 17-15 in the fifth and deciding set at Huff Hall.
Oct. 1, 2010: Vanessa DiBernardo scored a school-record four goals against Purdue.
Feb. 27, 2011: Ashley Kelly sprinted to her first Big Ten title in the 400 meters event.
Apr. 21, 2011: Stephanie Richartz became the first Illini pole vaulter to break the 13-foot barrier.
May 6, 2011: Kim Landrus was named head coach of Illini women's gymnastics.
May 14, 2011: The record-setting career of Illini softball star Danielle Zymkowitz ended. Her statistics included UI's all-time best batting average (.384).
Sept. 26, 2011: Illini volleyball reached No. 1 in the national rankings.
Oct. 8, 2011: Top-ranked Illini volleyball knocked off No. 8 Penn State, 3-2, in Happy Valley.
Oct. 19, 2011: Straight set victories over Northwestern stretched top-ranked Illini volleyball's record to 20-0. Three days later, host Nebraska stopped the streak.
Nov. 6, 2011: Illinois won the Big Ten soccer title, defeating No. 11 Penn State, 1-0, in overtime.
Dec. 14, 2011: Volleyball's Colleen Ward and Michelle Bartsch earned All-America honors.
Dec. 15 & 17, 2011: At the Final Four in San Antonio, Illini volleyball used a breathtaking rally in the fifth set to defeat Southern California, 3-2. Two nights later, UCLA denied Illinois a national title by winning three out of four sets.
Jan. 13, 2012: Volleyball Magazine tabbed Illini's Kevin Hambly as the nation's top coach.
Feb. 9, 2012: Illini women's basketball defeated visiting 10th-ranked Ohio State, 66-65.
Feb. 25, 2012: Ashley Spencer and the Illini 4x400-meters relay team won Big Ten titles at the conference's indoor championships.
Apr. 28-29, 2012: Illini softball beat No. 22 Michigan twice in a three-game series, becoming the first-ever team to do so in Ann Arbor.
May 13, 2012: Stephanie Richartz won her first Big Ten pole vault title, setting a school record with a leap of 14-feet-2-inches. Ashley Spencer (200m and 400m) and Latoya Griffith (400m hurdles) also won titles.
June 8, 2012: On her 19th birthday, Ashley Spencer won the 400-meter title at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
June 13, 2012: Volleyball's Colleen Ward was named winner of the Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year award.
June 26, 2012: Former Illini Gia Lewis-Smallwood earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team.
Aug. 9, 2012: Former Illini soccer standout Emily Zurrer received a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in London. She and her Canadian teammates beat France, 1-0. UI track and field's Gia Lewis (USA) and Nikkita Holder (Canada) also competed in the Olympics.
Sept. 14, 2012: Volleyball beat eventual NCAA champ Texas, 3-2, in Austin.
Nov. 2, 2012: Illini soccer upset third-ranked Penn State, 1-0, behind a brilliant effort by goalkeeper Steph Panozzo, qualifying it for the Big Ten Tournament finals. Two days later, it lost a 2-1 decision to Ohio State.
Nov. 9, 2012: For her contributions to the game, Illini head coach Janet Rayfield was named as recipient of the National Soccer Coaches Association's Honor Award.
Dec. 28, 2012: Twenty-seven points and 19 rebounds by Karisma Penn led Illini women's basketball to a 70-59 win against sixth-ranked Georgia.
Jan. 6, 2013: Illini women's basketball defeated No. 24 Ohio State in Columbus, 79-73.
Jan. 31, 2013: UI women's hoops beat No. 24 Iowa, 74-62.
Feb. 10, 2013: Against host Northern Iowa, Illini softball pitcher Pepper Gay no-hit the Panthers, 8-0.
Feb. 22, 2013: Junior pole vaulter Stephanie Richartz won her first indoor Big Ten crown with a school-record leap of 13-11 ¼. A day later, the Illini women won the conference's Indoor Championships.
Mar. 16, 2013: Gymnast Alina Weinstein posted a perfect 10 in floor exercise.
June 7, 2013: Ashley Spencer repeated as the NCAA champion in the 400 meters event. Four days later she was honored as UI's female recipient of the Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year Award.
Nov. 22, 2013: Taking a UI record 14 shots, soccer's Jannelle Flaws scored the last of her 23 goals to set an Illini single-season mark.
Dec. 6, 2013: UI swimmer Alison Meng broke the school record in the 100 backstroke.
Dec. 7, 2013: A 3-1 victory over No. 22 Marquette returned Illinois volleyball to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
Jan. 20, 2014: Former Illini track star Aja Evans was selected to the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team.
Feb. 23, 2014: Softball's Alex Booker became the first Illini to hit for the cycle.
Apr. 25, 2014: Illini softball trounced fourth-ranked Michigan, 10-2, in six innings.
Oct. 11, 2014: Illini volleyball upset defending national champion Penn State, 3-1, thanks to 19 kills and 12 digs from Jocelynn Birks.
Oct. 18, 2014: Coach Kevin Hambly's volleyball squad notched its first-ever Big Ten victory over Nebraska, beating the Huskers in Lincoln.
Nov. 4, 2014: Soccer's Jannelle Flaws repeated as the Big Ten Forward of the Year.
Nov. 27, 2014: Illinois women's basketball got 23 points from Chatrice White and 22 more from Ivory Crawford to beat No. 9 Kentucky, 77-71.
Feb. 6, 2015: Raquel Coriuk broke her own UI record with a score of 236.50 in platform diving.
May 15, 2015: Stephanie Richartz won her fifth Big Ten pole vault title.
June 4, 2015: Longtime Illini softball coach Terri Sullivan announced her retirement, a career that culminated in a record of 488-369-2.
June 24, 2015: Tyra Perry was hired as Illinois' softball coach.
Aug. 30, 2015: Soccer's Jannelle Flaws scored three goals in just nine minutes of playing against St. Louis.
Mar. 25, 2016: Illini gymnast Sunny Kato garnered first team All-America honors (balance beam).
Apr. 13, 2016: Former Illini track & field star Ashley Kelly, representing the Virgin Islands, qualified for the Rio Olympic Games in the 200 meters event.
May 15, 2016: For the fifth time in program history and the first since 2010, the Illinois softball team earned a berth into the 2016 NCAA Tournament
June 10, 2016: After a year in the role as interim head coach, Evan Clark was announced as UI's women's tennis coach.
July 6, 2016: Track and field alum Perdita Felicien was inducted into Canada's Athletic Hall of Fame.
Aug. 17, 2016: Former Illini track & field star Pedrya Seymour, representing The Bahamas, placed sixth in the Olympic 100-meter hurdles final.
Jan. 30, 2017: Volleyball coach Kevin Hambly departed Illinois for Stanford. Eleven days later (Feb. 10), Chris Tamas was named as UI's new head coach.
Mar. 1, 2017: No. 13 Nebraska fell to Illini women's basketball, 79-70.
Mar. 22, 2017: Nancy Fahey, a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, was hired by Josh Whitman as Illinois' new hoops coach.
Mar. 24, 2017: Senior Breanna Wonderly tossed just the 12th no-hitter in Illini softball history, an 8-0 win at Iowa.
Apr. 1, 2017: Annie Fleming's walk-off double lifted Illini softball past No. 6 Minnesota, 4-3.
June 12, 2017: Nadalie Walsh was named head coach of the Illini women's gymnastics program, replacing Kim Landrus.
Dec. 3, 2017: Illini volleyball stunned No. 8 Washington to earn a trip to NCAA's Sweet 16.
Jan. 13, 2018: Former Illini women's track & field athlete Aja Evans was named to the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team in the sport of bobsled.
Mar. 10, 2018: Junior Emily Oestreich tossed just the 13th no-hitter in Illini softball history, 11-0 vs. UMass-Lowell.
Nov. 24, 2018: UI's volleyball team won its 13th consecutive match, this one a 3-1 decision over No. 12 Purdue. The victory put a bow on a 17-3 conference record.
Dec. 13, 2018: Illini volleyball lost a 3-2 decision to Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at Minneapolis after advancing to its fourth NCAA Final Four.
Jan. 6, 2019: Illini women's basketball won at 12th-ranked Minnesota, 66-62.
May 6, 2019: Illini women's golf made its first team appearance in the NCAA Championships.
May 23, 2019: Women's tennis athlete Asuka Kawai became the first Illini singles player to qualify for the NCAA Quarterfinals, earning her All-America honors.
Jan. 9, 2020: Freshman gymnast Mia Takekawa posted a perfect score (10.0) on the balance beam.
Mar. 12, 2020: Due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Ten announced that it was cancelling all conference and non-conference competitions through the end of the academic year.
Nov. 1, 2020: Death of Illini women's sports pioneer Dr. Karol Kahrs.
Feb. 28, 2021: Illini softball swept a doubleheader from 17th-ranked Michigan.
Mar. 13, 2021: Softball's Sydney Sickels threw a no-hitter against Penn State.
Aug. 8, 2021: UI alumni Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, Jordyn Pouter and Erin Virtue helped Team USA win gold at Tokyo Olympics.
Oct. 1, 2021: In its biggest upset in 10 years, Illinois volleyball knocked off No. 4 Purdue.
Oct. 30, 2021: UI volleyball upset host No. 13 Penn State in four sets.
Dec. 4, 2021: Illini volleyball stunned No. 7 Kentucky and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
Feb. 25, 2021: Junior Abigail Cabush broke UI's 200 freestyle record for the second time in 19 days (1:47.80).
Nov. 1, 2021: Freshman Sydney Stoll broke Illini record in the 100 IM with a time of 57.37.
Feb. 17, 2022: Freshman Molly Yetter broke UI's seven-year-old 50 freestyle record with a time of 22.89.
Feb. 20, 2022: Senior right-hander Sydney Sickels tossed a no-hitter against Western Illinois.
Mar. 10, 2022: UI gymnast Mia Takekawa set a new program record in the all-around with a score of 39.750.
Mar. 21, 2022: Shauna Green was named Illini women's basketball coach, replacing the retired Nancy Fahey.
Apr. 27, 2022: Jeana Fuccillo Kempe was named Illini swimming and diving coach.
May 7, 2022: A record crowd of 1,503 at Eichelberger Field saw Illini softball split a doubleheader against Penn State.
May 15, 2022: Olivia Howell won her second straight 1500-meter title at the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
July 26, 2022: Two-time NCAA Championship coach Petros Kyprianou was announced as the new director of the Illini track and field and cross-country programs.
