Michelle McGrady and the rest of the Illni travel to Michigan this Saturday for the Big Ten Championships.

March 26, 2008

Big Ten Championship Notes in PDF Format

Illinois at the Big Ten Championships

Saturday, March 29, 2008 // 2 p.m. ET // Crisler Arena // Ann Arbor, Mich.

For Openers
The Fighting Illini women's gymnastics team heads to Ann Arbor, Mich., to compete in the Big Ten Championships this Saturday, March 29, at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT. The Championship will be televised tape-delayed on the Big Ten Network (DirecTV Ch. 220 and Dish Network Ch. 439) on Thursday, April 3, at 7 p.m. CT.

Last weekend, the Illini took home the unofficial state crown by winning the State of Illinois classic with a score of 194.825. Illinois-Chicago was close behind the Illini to take second with a score of 194.550. Rounding out the field were Northern Illinois (193.725) and Illinois State (191.950).

Championship Preview
The Fighting Illini enter the Big Ten Championships as the sixth ranked team in a tight field that features five of the seven teams ranked between #17 and #26. Host and 4th-ranked Michigan, is the favorite heading into the weekend. The Wolverines along with No. 17 Michigan State, No. 22 Iowa, No. 23 Penn State and No. 25 Minnesota are ahead of the Illini in the rankings, while 31st-ranked Ohio State is not far behind. Minnesota (three victories) and Michigan (14 victories) have been the only two teams to win the Big Ten title since 1990, when Illinois won its first and only Big Ten gymnastics crown.

The Best in the Conference
Vault: Michigan's Kylee Botterman leads the conference on vault with an event RQS of 9.915. Freshman Allison Buckley heads the Illini with a 9.855 RQS, which currently ranks ninth in the conference.

Bars: Becky Bernard of Michigan tops all Big Ten gymnasts on bars with an event RQS of 9.900. Illinois sophomore Sarah Schmidt leads the Illini with a 9.800, ranking her 13th in the conference.

Beam: Michigan State's Nicole Curler leads the conference on beam with an event RQS of 9.875. Junior Julie Crall is the top Illini representatives on this event with a 9.860, tying her for 5th in the conference, while Buckley is right behind at 7th with an RQS of 9.855.

Floor: Brandi Personett of Penn State leads all Big Ten gymnasts on floor with an RQS of 9.910, but Illinois' Buckley is just behind, sitting 2nd with an RQS of 9.885.

All-Around: Michigan's Lindsey Bruck, with an event RQS of 39.395, is the top all-around performer in the Big Ten. Buckley, who places third in the conference with an RQS of 39.260, paves the way for the Illini all-arounders.

Last Year at Big Tens: Illini Take Third, Pomeroy Wins Bars Title
Illinois finished third at the 2007 Big Ten Championships in University Park, Pa., its highest finish since winning the conference crown in 1990. The 21st-ranked Illini scored a 195.250, their top road score of the season, to finish behind No. 13 Michigan and No. 12 Penn State, and ahead of No. 19 Michigan State, No. 20 Ohio State, No. 22 Minnesota and Iowa. In addition to the team success, Cara Pomeroy broke an eight-year UI title drought by winning the uneven bars with 9.950, leading the team to a season-high team score of 49.300 on the event. Freshman Nicole Cowart took fourth in the all-around (39.000), and fellow freshman Sarah Schmidt tied for second on bars (9.900) and took sixth in the all-around (38.975).

Illini Big Ten Championship History
Over the years, the Illini have claimed one Big Ten title after brining home the 1990 crown with a score of 188.750. This puts them in the same group as Michigan, Ohio State and Minnesota in being the only four programs to win the conference championship. Since than win, however, Illinois has struggled, finishing higher than fourth only once last - year's third place finish. Throughout the 26-year history of the meet, the Illini have won eight individual titles, with the last coming by Pomeroy last season on the uneven bars.

Buckley Earns Weekly Big Ten Honor
Freshman Allison Buckley was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week (March 19) after winning four individual titles and leading the Illini to a win over Illinois-Chicago on March 15. Buckley posted the second best all-around score in Illinois history with a 39.450 to earn her fourth all-around title of the season. She also won titles on vault (9.900), beam (9.925) and floor exercise (9.900) against the Flames. Her 9.925 mark on beam equaled the second best score in program history and her 9.900 on vault equaled her career-high. It was Buckley's first career weekly honor and the first for an Illini since Cara Pomeroy on Feb. 8, 2006.

Illini Vault Into Record Book
For the second straight year Illinois set a new school record on vault in a meet against the UIC Flames. Last year, the Illini put up a 49.125 against UIC in early March, this year they did one better and totaled a 49.150 on vault on March 15 against the Flames. Four Illini set or tied their career-highs on the event and another set a season-high to take the top spot in the record book. Freshman Allison Buckley led the way with a career-best 9.900 to win the individual crown, while senior Michelle McGrady (CH 9.875), freshman Melissa Fernandez (CH 9.800), junior Marijka Botterman (SH 9.800), sophomore Nicole Cowart (9.775) and sophomore Sarah Schmidt (CH 9.725) all contributed to the record as well.

Last Time Out: Illini Claim State Title
Last weekend, the Illini claimed state bragging rights by winning the four-team State of Illinois Classic at Huff Hall. Illinois posted a score of 194.825 to place first in the competition, which featured all four Division I teams in the state - Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State and Northern Illinois. UIC took second with a season-high 194.550 and was followed by NIU (193.725) and ISU (191.950). Freshman Allison Buckley won three individual titles (beam-9.900, floor-9.875, all-around-39.350) to give her 19 on the season which ranks as the third-highest total in school history behind only former Olympian Nancy Thies' totals of 34 and 24 in 1976 and '77, respectively. Junior Julie Crall scored a career-high 9.850 to take home the bars title. Marijka Botterman posted a season-high 9.825 to take second on vault and freshman Lashlee Morris scored a personal-best 9.800 on beam to finish third.

Illini In the Rankings
The Illini are currently ranked just outside the top-25, at No. 26 in this week's GymInfo rankings. The Orange and Blue are down two spots from last week and remain seventh in the South Central Regional rankings. Illinois ranks 19th in the nation and 4th in the region on bars (48.860) and 23rd in the nation on vault (48.865). The Illini have been ranked as high as No. 19 this season (after week one).

Individual Rankings
Freshman Allison Buckley is currently ranked 18th in the nation on floor exercise (9.885), 24th in the all-around (39.260), 37th on beam (9.855) and 47th on vault (9.855). Junior Julie Crall is ranked 30th on beam (9.860), sophomore Nicole Cowart is ranked 61st in the all-around (38.865) and sophomore Sarah Schmidt comes in at 98th on bars (9.800).

Buckley off to Blazing Start
Freshman Allison Buckley has wasted no time establishing herself as a frontrunner for Big Ten Freshman of the Year and as one of the best freshmen in program history. The Schaumburg, Ill. native has competed in the all-around in every meet this year, capturing 19 individual titles (vault-4, bars-1, beam-2, floor-7, AA-5) which is the third-highest total in school history behind only former Olympian Nancy Thies' totals of 34 and 24 in 1976 and '77, respectively.

Buckley was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week two weeks ago after winning four individual titles (vault, beam, floor, AA) and nearly breaking the Illinois all-around record. Her score of 39.450 was just shy of Ashley Williams' record of 39.475. Just a week earlier she scored a 39.375 in the all-around, which equaled the second best score in school history at the time. In addition, her score of 9.925 on beam equaled the second best score on the event in school history.

This past weekend, she scored another top-5 all-around score in school history with a 39.350 en route to individual titles on beam (9.900), floor (9.875) and in the all-around. She is currently ranked 18th in the nation on floor (9.885), 24th in the all-around (39.260), 37th on beam (9.855) and 47th on vault (9.855).

Schmidt, Botterman Give Illini A Boost
Sophomore Sarah Schmidt is now back to full strength after being hobbled by an ankle injury for the past several weeks. Two weeks ago at UIC, Schmidt was back in the all-around for the first time since Iowa on Jan. 25, just before the injury. She won the bars title with a season-high 9.875 and also posted a career-high vault of 9.725. She has four individual titles on the season, three on bars and one in the all-around. Prior to her injury, Schmidt won the all-around competition with a career-best 39.050 at Iowa.

In addition to Schmidt, Marijka Botterman has been back on her usual three events for the past three weeks (vault, bars and floor) since missing some action with a knee injury. She appears to be peaking at the right time as she set or tied her season-high on all three events in the past two weeks (9.825 on vault, 9.825 on bars and 9.800 on floor).

Crall-ing Back
Junior Julie Crall has had a successful return this year after suffering a season-ending Achilles' tear on March 9 of last season. Crall had been a top performer for the Illini in each of her first two seasons, earning second team All-Big Ten honors in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns. This past weekend, Crall won her first career uneven bars title with a career best 9.850. She now has six event titles this season, five on beam, and is ranked 30th in the nation and seventh in the South Central Region on the balance beam (9.860 RQS).

Youth Served
Not only does this season have the making of a great one for Illinois, but the future also looks bright for the Orange and Blue. Last week in the State of Illinois Classic, only two of 24 routines were by seniors (Melcarek's bars and McGrady's vault) and 15 of the 24 routines were by freshmen and sophomores.

In addition to Buckley, the three other Illini freshman have made an immediate impact. Melissa Fernandez has been a constant contributor on vault, beam and floor throughout the season and has been at her best lately, scoring a career-high 9.775 on floor this past weekend, a 9.800 on vault two weeks ago at UIC and a career-high 9.850 on beam against Missouri on March 8. Lashlee Morris had been in the beam line-up in every meet before suffering a foot injury prior to the March 8 meet against Mizzou, but she returned to the event two weeks ago and posted a personal-best 9.800 this past week. Morris has also competed on bars and floor at times this season. Samantha Perino saw time in the floor line-up earlier this year, and is still pushing to crack the line-up on beam. Even sophomore Laura Woolf made her first appearances for the Illini earlier this season, cracking the line-up on vault on two occasions.

Up Next
Illinois has clinched their fifth-straight regional bid and will most likely head to Norman, Okla., for the South Central Regional on April 14. However, official regional assignments won't be announced until Sunday, March 30, after the completion of the conference championships.

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