Columbus, Ohio - The Orange and Blue posted a strong road score but narrowly fell to Ohio State, 196.000–195.800 on Saturday afternoon. Despite a career night from sophomore Chloe Cho, who captured four titles, the Fighting Illini could not quite overcome the Buckeyes.
Junior Lyden Saltness (9.850) and Cho (9.900) helped the Illini start off strong on the uneven bars, and produce a steady team score of 48.825.
Illinois struggled to keep pace during the second rotation on vault, where they posted a team score of 48.775.
The Fighting Illini (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) saw a breakout performance from freshman Ava Banks. Banks highlighted the third rotation for Illinois by posting a career-high 9.800 on the floor exercise, providing a late spark for the Orange and Blue.
In the fourth rotation, Chlo Cho bumps the Illinois score on the beam, tying her career high score of the apparatus of 9.925. She was not alone in this event, as other notable competitors were Olivia Coppola (9.850), Summer Clancy (9.825) and Saltness (9.825).
"I am proud of these ladies. They represented The University of Illinois very well. They stepped up as a team and got season highs on three of our four events," Head Coach Josh Nilson said. "Chloe Cho came out with an all-around win as well as bars, beam, and floor titles. We will continue building on this, but to improve 1.700 in one week on the road is a great step forward. The future is bright."
Illinois returns home to Huff Hall next Sunday, Feb. 1, hosting Maryland at 2 p.m. CT.
