University of Illinois
Big Five Meet
@IlliniWGym Headed For B1G Five Meet
March 11, 2016 | Women's Gymnastics
| #23 Illinois at Big Five Meet | |
|---|---|
| When | March 12 // 3 PM CT |
| Where | St. John Arena | Columbus, Ohio |
| Live Links | Live Stats | Live Stream |
| Team Information | Illinois Notes |
The No. 23 Fighting Illini (8-4, 3-3) will compete in the B1G Five Meet Saturday, March 12, in Columbus, Ohio. Illinois will battle Maryland, Michigan State, No. 16 Nebraska and Ohio State for positioning at the Big Ten Championships. The meet is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT in St. John Arena.
ILLINI NOTES
- Illinois ranks in the top-15 in the nation in two events: 8th on beam (49.200 regional qualifying score) and 16th on floor (49.155 RQS).
- Giana O'Connor ranks 18th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in the all-around with an RQS of 39.315.
- O'Connor ranks 25th in the nation on floor (9.895 RQS).
- Sunny Kato ranks fifth in the nation and first in the Big Ten on beam (9.910 RQS).
- Kato has garnered a 9.925 or higher in the last four meets and tied her own school-record on beam with a 9.950 at Michigan State.
- Illinois broke the school-record beam total at Michigan State with a 49.425. In the last four meets, the Illini have posted three beam scores that rank in the top-10 in program history.
- Illinois posed a season-best floor score (39.425) last weekend in the Illinois Classic, which ranks seventh-best in program history.
- O'Connor achieved her season-best all-around total of 39.525 vs. Iowa State and is averaging above a 9.800 on vault, beam and floor.
- Lizzy LeDuc achieved a season-best 39.300 at Michigan State and is averaging above a 9.800 on beam and floor.
- Erin Buchanan has achieved her season-best all-around total of 39.200 twice this season and is averaging above a 9.700 on vault and floor.
- Heather Foley is averaging above a 9.700 on vault and floor.
- O'Connor has garnered a team-high 21 event titles on the season, which ranks fourth most all-time in program history.
- UI sports a deep lineup with 13 of 14 gymnasts seeing competitive action this season.
LAST WEEK
The Illini claimed the State of Illinois Classic victory for the ninth consecutive year, totaling a 195.425 inside Huff Hall. Illinois secured wins over Northern Illinois (194.225), UIC (192.625) and Illinois State (191.500). Including the all-around, the Illini took home titles on all events except for uneven bars. Erin Buchanan and Giana O'Connor shared the vault title with a score of 9.775. Sunny Kato took the title on balance beam with a score of 9.925, scoring at least a 9.925 on bars in the fourth consecutive meet. Giana O'Connor claimed the floor crown with a score of 9.900. Buchanan, O'Connor and Kato joined Lizzy LeDuc and Haylee Roe as the five Illini named to the 2016 All-State Team. LeDuc placed second on beam with a 9.850 and Roe placed third on the event with a 9.825.
O'CONNOR'S STRONG START
Giana O'Connor has garnered a total of 21 event titles in the first nine meets of the season. O'Connor has claimed three or more titles (including all-around) in a meet four times this season, including earning four crowns at Rutgers. Her performance this season moved her into third on the Illinois career event title list with a total of 43 titles.
ILLINI EARN BIG TEN HONORS
Illinois has garnered a total of four Big Ten honors this season. The conference announced Giana O'Connor as Co-Gymnast of the Week and Sunny Kato as Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week on Monday, Feb. 29. A week earlier, on Monday, Feb. 22, the Big Ten announced senior Sunny Kato as the Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week and Lizzy LeDuc as the Freshman Gymnast of the Week. The awards marked the second and third Event Specialist award of Kato's career and the first Gymnast of the Week honor for O'Connor. LeDuc garnered her first Freshman of the Week honor.
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 three 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.
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.
