Hey Illini fans!

It's crazy how fast time flies, with Halloween in less than a week and November right around the corner, we have reached the halfway point of preseason. Everyone is working hard in and out of the gym to accomplish our goals. The coming weeks will be full of intense practices and attention to detail. With that being said, we are looking forward to our first mini intra- squad which is on November 1st. We will be doing full routines on some events, and halves on others. Last year we were put into two teams, The Flipping Dead and The Gymumpkins, where The Flipping Dead came out with the win. It will be exciting to see what the coaches come up with this year and who will come out victorious!

As Haylee talked about in the previous Illini Ink, we had our fall break last week which was a few days of much needed rest for all of us, as we did not have practice Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Some of us used this break to spend time at home with our families, including myself. Others used this time to relax, support other teams, and catch up on school work and sleep here on campus. It was nice to give our bodies and minds a little break so that we can be ready for the start of routines!

This past weekend was Homecoming at Illinois. There were a bunch of festivities going on before the game including Rodney Atkins playing at Grange Grove which is a new tailgating area in front of Memorial Stadium. Although I was working the game and only got to see a little of the concert, the girls had a ton of fun singing along and taking pictures! Afterwards, everyone went to the game to cheer on our fellow student-athletes. The atmosphere at the game was like it has never been before! The Block I section was jammed packed with cheering students.  It was such an exciting game that ended in a tough loss for the Illini!  

This year is already going by so fast as we only have a few weeks until Thanksgiving break. Make sure to stay tuned for the next Illini Ink.

Thanks for reading and GO ILLINI!

Love,

Giana