Results

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 24 Illinois women's gymnastics team secured a new season-high team score of 196.875 to place second in a tri meet against No. 16 Ohio State and Kent State Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. 

Ohio State won the meet with a 197.600 with Kent State coming in third with a 196.025. 

"I love how the team stayed in the moment the whole meet.," head coach Nadalie Walsh said. "Getting their season high score is absolutely something for them to celebrate and be proud of. We are peaking at the right time, have a lot more in our tank and are hungry to keep growing closer as a team and getting better each day."

The Illini started the tri meet on floor with Mia Townes earning a 9.925, tying her career-high. Kadyn Fitzgibbon also had a nice showing, scoring a 9.875. Kaitlyn Ewald, Abby Mueller and Mia Takekawa all earned the same score with a 9.85. 

Townes kept her momentum going into vault, securing a 9.90 and earning second place by just a .25 difference. Julia Waight had a strong performance, scoring a 9.825 with Ruthuja Nataraj scoring a 9.775. Makayla Green, Fitzgibbon and Mueller all earned a 9.75 as well. 

Mallory Mizuki and Olivia O'Donnell had the highest Illinois bars scores and tied for third with a 9.90. Mueller was behind them with a 9.85 and Takekawa secured a 9.825. 

Takekawa shined on beam, once again receiving a 10.0 from one judge and a 9.95 from another to tie her season-high 9.975. Mueller scored a 9.875 on the event with Townes securing a 9.85 and Nataraj scoring a 9.80. 

Illinois will be back on Saturday, March 11, at 2 p.m. CT with another tri meet against No. 12 Kentucky and Illinois State. It will also be Senior Day for the Illini, celebrating the eight seniors post meet.