AT ILLINOIS
2013 - Senior: Advanced to the NCAA Individual Event Finals on floor and earned First-Team All-American status ... NACGC First-Team All-American on Floor and Second-Team All-American in the All-Around ... Honda Award Finalist, which acknowledges the top four gymnasts in the country ... NCAA South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year ... First-Team All-Big Ten ... All-Big Ten Championship Team ... First Illini to win Big Ten Gymnast of the Week three times in the same season ... First Illini to win three Regional titles, taking the floor (9.9), beam (9.9) and all-around (39.55) crowns ... Broke three Illini individual records on vault (10.0), floor (9.975) and the all-around (39.625)... Thus, Weinstein scored the second ever 10.0 in Illini history ... Now owns the top three all-around scores in program history, all set in 2013...Her 26 individual titles in 2013 stands as the second most in a single season ... Her 43 career titles is good for third place all-time ...Academic All-Big Ten ... Voted the team's MVP and Most Outstanding Gymnast.
2012 - Junior: Competed at the NCAA National Championships in the all-around, becoming the 10th individual NCAA qualifier in school history ... Advanced to the national meet by winning the all-around at the NCAA Champaign Regional with a career-high 39.450, making her just the second all-around regional champion in school history ... Also tied for first on beam at the regional with a career-high 9.900, becoming just the second Illini ever to win multiple regional titles, sharing that honor with Nancy Thies, who won a combined seven crowns from 1976-77 ... Second-team All-Big Ten selection ... Tallied nine scores over 39 in the all-around, which included two of the top-10 scores in school history with a personal-best 39.450 (No. 5) and a 39.425 (No. 8) ... Was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week (Jan. 30)... Ranked second on the team with 14 individual titles and 42 top-five finishes ... Hit 48-of-53 routines, including all 13 on vault and beam ... Also set career highs on vault (9.875) and floor (9.900) ... Was named the team's Most Outstanding Gymnast and co-Most Consistent Beam ... Academic All-Big Ten selection.
2011 - Sophomore: Earned second-team All-America honors on floor after tying for eighth at the NCAA Championships ... Competed in the all-around at 13 meets, including at nationals, and tallied a career-best 39.250 at the State of Illinois Classic ... Hit 47-of-52 routines ... Won the first three event titles of her career, with two on bars and one in the all-around ... Posted a career-best 9.800 on vault at nationals and tallied career highs on beam (9.850) and floor (9.875) ... Hit all four routines at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, helping the squad earn its second national bid ... Named the team's Most Improved Gymnast ... Academic All-Big Ten selection.
2010 - Freshman: Competed in the all-around for the first time in her career at the NCAA Central Regional, scoring a 39.050 and placing seventh overall ... Tied for fourth on beam at the NCAA Central Regional by tying her season high with a 9.800 ... Stepped in as a replacement for the injured Melissa Fernandez on balance beam at the Big Ten Championships and set a season-high 9.800 on the event ... Posted a career-best 9.925 on uneven bars at the State of Illinois Classic, which tied the sixth-best mark in school history ... Competed on uneven bars in the final 11 meets of the season, scoring over 9.700 eight times ... Exhibitioned nine times on beam and eight times on floor exercise.
High School/Club: Five-time Junior Olympic National Qualifier ... Placed 13th in the all-around and tied for seventh on floor at JO Nationals in 2009 ... Three-time Region VII bar champion and two-time Regional all-around and floor champion, both most recently in 2009 ... 2009 New Jersey State bar and beam champion ... Finished 11th in the all-around at 2008 JO Nationals ... JO National Team member in 2005 ... 2004 Elite National qualifier ... Competed for Arena Gymnastics ... Club coaches were Valdi and Ann Kolasa.
Personal: Born Jan. 9, 1991 ... Daughter of Elena Weinstein ... Says she chose Illinois because "it was the perfect combination of academics and athletics and when I visited it felt like it was home." ... Sister, Lili, was a member of the swim team at Brandeis University ... Majoring in Communications.
Alina's Career Highs
Vault: 10.0- (at State of Illinois Classic, 3/16/13)
Bars: 9.925 - (at State of Illinois Classic, 3/20/10)
Beam: 9.900 - (3x, last at NCAA Championships, 4/19/13)
Floor: 9.975 - (twice, last vs. Ball State & UIC, 3/10/13)
All-Around: 39.625 - (State of Illinois Classic, 3/16/13)
Individual Titles
Vault:7
Bars: 8
Beam:6
Floor:9
All-Around:13
Total: 43
The Weinstein File
My best memory as an Illini: Making it to Nationals with my team my sophomore year
What I've learned from Coach Landrus: "Swagger", "Every skill has a drill" and "Five good lines"
Being a Fighting Illini means: Bleeding orange and blue
Unique/quirky habit of one of your teammates: Jac snorts when she laughs.
Which teammate would you want with you if you were stranded on an island: Elise, I feel like together we would be able to rope turtles and make rafts out of them. We would also be able to survive because we would find outrageous things to cook for food.
Favorite event: Beam
Favorite Illini athlete (not on your team): Nicole Denenberg (Soccer)
Favorite post-meet meal: Steak and mashed potatoes
Favorite activity outside gymnastics: Cooking
Favorite thing to do on the quad: Playing with my dog Lucy
Favorite Fierce Five Gymnast: Aly Raisman
Favorite all-time gymnast: Morgan Dennis
Favorite sports team: Chelsea F.C.
Favorite movie: Anchorman
Favorite place to travel to for a meet: Cancun
Pre-meet superstitions: Eating salmon the night before
Plans after Illinois: Joining Cirque du Soleil and traveling the world
Met anyone famous?: Beyonce and Ryan Sheckler
One thing you've dreamt about doing: Opening a restaurant or a clothing boutique
If the gymnastics team were to get their own reality show, what would be the name of it?: Real World Kenney Gym
If you could perform one of your routines anywhere on campus, where would you go?: The football field in Memorial Stadium
What movie role would you like to act in?: Anything where I play Mark Wahlberg's love interest
Actress I would want to play me in a movie about my life: Mila Kunis
One thing I can't go a day without: Coffee
Name something most people don't know about you: I speak Russian
