*College Gym News is providing score updates, as live stats are not available 

FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 22 Illinois women's gymnastics team will head south for the Metroplex Challenge to take on No. 3 Utah, No. 18 Georgia and Illinois State on Feb. 11 at 2:15 p.m. in Fort Worth Texas.

ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS 

Illinois women's gymnastics moved to the No. 22 spot in the Road to Nationals rankings after their .90 loss to Minnesota on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT 

The Illini are now 4-3 on the year and 2-1 in Big Ten competition. 

Mia Takekawa and Olivia O'Donnell were the leading Illini on bars, both earning a 9.8. Arielle Ward and Rachel Borden were right behind them with a 9.775 each. 

Ward, once again, led the Illini on vault, scoring a 9.825 while Abby Mueller and Takekawa took the second best, both scoring a 9.775. 

Takekawa took home the beam title, scoring a 9.925 with Amelia Knight and Ruthuja Nataraj right behind her with a 9.85.

Mia Townes was the highest Illini scorer on floor, securing a 9.875 with Takekawa securing a 9.8 with her routine. 

SCOUTING REPORT

This is the second time Illinois will compete with Utah since 1981, with the other meetings coming from the postseason. Overall, the Illini have yet to defeat Utah, with the Utes having a 6-0 advantage. The most recent outing was at the NCAA Regional Second Round where Utah took the 197.800-197.375 win. 

Illinois has a 1-1 record with Georgia since 1999 in the regular season. The win came in 2018 at the ELEVATE meet. While the Illini placed 3rd of 4, they out-scored the Bulldogs 195.900-195.850. In 2022, Georgia out-scored the Illini in the Kentucky Quad meet, 196.125-195.650. 

The Illini have faced Illinois State just five times since 1999 with a 2-3 overall record. The last time the two teams met, however, was an exhibition meet where the Orange and Blue walked away with the win.