Results
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 21 Women's gymnastics placed second with a score of 196.850 in the Big 5 meet hosted by Penn State.
No. 11 Michigan took first place, scoring a 197.500, No. 22 Penn State took third with a 196.775, Iowa taking fourth with a 196.225 and Maryland taking fifth with a 195.100.
The Illini improve to 10-8 on the year and 4-5 in conference competition.
"Finishing second at Big 5 is a huge victory for the team," head coach Nadalie Walsh said. "Vault, beam and bars did a phenomenal job. I'm especially excited for Ross (Thompson) and the vault team. They have been working very hard at making improvements. The team stayed very focused and together throughout the whole meet, making it an incredible experience!"
Freshman Lyden Saltness was the only event winner for the Illini, scoring a near perfect score on bars with a 9.975.
Arielle Ward and Alea Byrne earned career highs on vault – with Ward taking a 9.900 and Byrne earning a 9.875.
Event Breakdown
Beam
Illinois started the meet on beam with no Illini scoring under a 9.800. Ruthuja Nataraj led the Orange and Blue with a 9.900 for the second-straight week. Mia Townes, Amelia Knight, Abby Mueller and Mia Takekawa all scored a 9.800, and Kaitlyn Ewald took a 9.825.
Floor
After a bye, the Illini kicked off floor with Ward tying her career high with a 9.875. Mia Townes rounded out the lineup with a 9.925, taking fourth place.
Vault
The Illini took off on vault, with Nataraj and Townes both scoring a 9.825. Mueller and Takekawa also earned a pair of 9.850s for Illinois.
Bars
Knight and Takekawa had the second-best score of 9.900 after Saltness' 9.975, with Mueller also earning a 9.825.
Up Next
The Illini will now go to Columbus, Ohio to compete against No. 14 Ohio State, Kent State and Bowling Green on March 1 at 5:30 p.m. CT at the Covelli Center.
