Illini Open Season with Second Place Finish

Illinois tallied a 194.200 on Friday night

Women's Gymnastics January 6, 2017

Illini Open Season with Second Place Finish

Illinois tallied a 194.200 on Friday night

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Illinois women's gymnastics opened the 2017 campaign with a 194.200 finish, to earn a second place finish on Friday night. Three Illini garnered individual honors on the balance beam as Mary Jane Horth, Brielle Nguyen and Lizzy LeDuc each tallied a 9.875 on the apparatus. The Illini finished ahead of Ball State (193.625), and Missouri won the team title with a 196.225 score.

"It was a starting point," said head coach Kim Landrus. "I think when you start off your first event and you have the result we did, it is difficult. It is difficult for any team. I was encouraged by the way they bounced back and hit the reset button on beam. They did very, very normal beam. They went to floor and I thought that warm-ups were off on floor. Instead of putting it all behind them, I think it continued a little bit. We did alright on floor, but we are a very good floor team; their potential is much greater than what we saw tonight. I say the same thing for vault; It is a learning curve and this is the starting point. What I am looking for now is for them to train with intention and take the good, the bad and ugly from this and grow."

Three Illini made their collegiate debuts for the Orange and Blue on Friday night. Freshman Karen Howell competed in the all-around, scoring a 37.150. Rae Balthazor competed on vault and bars. Lindsay Dwyer made her bars debut.

Illinois started the meet on bars with Balthazor and Sarah Lyons each scoring a 9.80. Mary Jane Horth notched a 9.75, Erin Buchanan followed with a 9.60 and Howell contributed a 9.60. After the first rotation, Illinois trailed both Missouri and Ball State with a 47.575.

After a strong beam rotation, the Illini moved into second place behind Missouri, 97.975-96.825. Nguyen, Horth and LeDuc each scored a team-high 9.875 on the apparatus. Junior Bridget Hodan reset her career-high with a 9.825. Balthazor and Roe both contributed a 9.80. The 49.250 total on beam marks the program's ninth-best beam score.

The Orange and Blue headed to floor for the third rotation, led by Nguyen who posted a 9.80. Junior Becca Cuppy tied her career-high with a 9.775. Hodan and Roe each contributed a 9.75 and Buchanan finished with a 9.70. The Illini remained in second place after the third rotation with a 145.600 total.

Illinois closed the meet on vault, posting a 48.775 team score on the event. Balthazor and Horth led the Illini with a 9.75 mark. Seniors Lyons and Buchanan each contributed 9.70. Howell scored a 9.65 in her first competitive routine.

Up next, the Illini open the 2017 home season with a quad meet, hosting Rutgers, Eastern Michigan and UIC. The meet is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4 p.m. in Huff Hall.

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