The No. 25 Fighting Illini (2-4, 2-3) face Michigan State on the road Friday, Feb. 19 in East Lansing, Michigan. The meet is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. 

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS 

Michigan State  (3-5, 1-4) enters the weekend coming of a loss at Michigan in which the Spartans posted a season-best team score of 195.425. Michigan State currently ranks 37th in the nation with a season average of 194.358. The Spartans' best event is on floor where they rank 25th in the nation with a season average of 48.946. 

ILLINI NOTES

• Illinois ranks in the top-15 in the nation in two events: 15th on beam (48.917) and 14th on floor (49.046).
• Giana O'Connor ranks 35th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten on floor with an average of 9.862.
• O'Connor ranks 36th in the all-around with an average of 39.145.
• Mary Jane Horth ranks 24th in the nation and third in the Big Ten in the all-around 39.238.
• Mary Jane Horth is the only Illini to finish in the top-three in the all-around in every meet she has competed in this season.
• Freshman Lizzy LeDuc garnered the first event title of her career at Penn State on beam (9.900). 
• Lizzy LeDuc has produced at season-best all-around total in consecutive meets. Last weekend she totaled a 39.200 that placed second against Iowa. 
• Erin Buchanan has led the Illini on floor in the last three meets. She garnered her first floor title of the season last weekend vs. Iowa with a 9.875. 
• For the second straight meet, Bridget Hodan competed in three events. In her first competitive season, she is averaging above a 9.700 on beam and floor. 
• Heather Foley is averaging above a 9.700 on vault, beam and floor.
• O'Connor has garnered at team-high 10 event titles on the season. 

LAST WEEK

The Illini fell to Iowa 196.275-195.125 Saturday, Feb. 13 inside Huff Hall. Illinois produced one event title and six (including all-around) top-3 finishes. Two Illini took home an event title, as Giana O'Connor and Erin Buchanan shared the floor crown with a 9.875. Lizzy LeDuc produced a career-best all-around for the second consecutive meet, finishing with a 39.200 that placed second. O'Connor also produced a 39.200.

O'CONNOR'S STRONG START

Giana O'Connor has garnered a total of 10 event titles in the first six meets of the season. At Rutgers, O'Connor claimed four titles, finishing with the best score on bars (9.825), floor (9.875) and the all-around (39.325), while also sharing the vault title with a 9.825. Her performance this season moved her into ninth on the Illinois career event title list with a total of 32 titles.

ALL-AROUNDERS

UI has had four different gymnasts compete in the all-around this season. Giana O'Connor has competed in the all-around in every meet. O'Connor has garnered two all-around titles, while Mary Jane Horth earned her first all-around title of the season at Penn State and has finished in the top-3 in every meet she has competed in. Erin Buchanan and Lizzy LeDuc have also competed in the all-around in multiple meets. Buchanan produced a season-best 39.200 at Penn State and LeDuc's season-best total (39.200) came against Iowa.

ILLINI DEBUTS

Six Illini have made their competitive debuts for the Orange and Blue this season. Four debuted in the season opener, including freshman Lizzy LeDuc, who competed in the all-around. Fellow freshmen Rachael Donovan and Haylee Roe competed on bars and floor, respectively, while sophomore Bridget Hodan led off on beam in her first competitive routine. Freshman Brielle Nguyen made her competitive debut on beam at Rutgers and freshman Julia Hutcherson made her competitive debut on vault against Michigan.