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 Landrus led Illinois to its highest national ranking (11th) and its second-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships in 2011.  |
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Kim Landrus, who is in her 10th year as a coach for the Illini, was named the head coach for the Illinois women's gymnastics team after spending the 2010-11 season as the interim head coach. Landrus served as associate head coach for four years from 2006-10 after being promoted from assistant coach in the fall of 2006. In the gym, she primarily coaches the balance beam, in addition to choreographing the beam routines, structuring day-to-day practices and monitoring the conditioning program for the gymnasts. Outside the gym, she serves as recruiting coordinator, playing a vital role in both on- and off-campus recruiting.
In her first season as interim head coach, Landrus led Illinois to its highest national ranking in school history, as the Illini wrapped up the year ranked No. 11 following their second-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Orange and Blue matched their highest regional finish ever, tying for second at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, and placed third at the Big Ten Championships, reaching the podium for the fourth time in five years. The Illini also broke the school record for team score (196.975) and balance beam (49.375) during the 2011 season.
Individually, six Illini garnered All-America honors with Landrus at the helm, marking the most accolades in a single season in school history. Senior Melissa Fernandez turned in the best individual season in school history, picking up three All-America honors and twice earned a spot on the awards podium at the national meet. The Illini also boasted three All-Big Ten selections and a freshman Big Ten champion on vault in Amber See.
In 2010, Landrus helped the Illini finish in the Top 25 for the fifth-consecutive year with a No. 16 final national ranking. Her beam team ranked among the top 10 in the nation and turned in four of the top-10 beam scores in school history, including tying the second-best mark of 49.175. The Illini took third at the NCAA Central Regional and boasted two individual national qualifiers in Sarah Schmidt (all-around) and Allison Buckley, who became just the second first-team All-American in school history with her performance on vault. The Orange and Blue also led the conference with four All-Big Ten selections, with Buckley, Schmidt and Fernandez on the first team and Nicole Cowart on the second team.
In 2009, Landrus played a big part in leading Illinois to one of its best seasons in school history. She was named co-National Assistant Coach of the Year by the NACGC after guiding the Illini to their first-ever NCAA Championship appearance. The Illini finished the season ranked 12th in the nation, the program's highest ever final ranking, and produced two All-Americans in the same season for the first time in school history. The Orange and Blue also took runner-up finishes at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA West Regional. In addition, Landrus helped the 2009 Illini put up four of the top six team scores in Illinois history.
Landrus' 2009 beam squad was among the nation's elite, ranking in the top 15 nationally all season while re-writing the school record book. She helped Melissa Fernandez earn first-team All-America honors on the balance beam, Illinois' first NCAA first-team All-American, giving the Illini a beam All-American in two straight seasons for the first time ever. Landrus also guided the Illini to the top-three beam scores in school history, including the school record score of 49.200 at the NCAA West Regional, and coached Allison Buckley to the 2009 West Regional Beam title with an individual school record-tying 9.950, making her Illinois' first regional champion on the event in over 30 years.
Landrus has had much success during her nine-year tenure on the Illinois staff, playing a big role in Illinois' gradual rise to national prominence. She has helped lead the Illini to eight straight NCAA Regional appearances from 2004-10, and has made the Illini a regular in the weekly top-25 polls, peaking at No. 11 heading into the 2009 and 2011 NCAA Championships.
 Landrus coached Melissa Fernandez to first team All-America honors in 2009 and 2011. |
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Since Landrus' arrival, the Illini beam squads have recorded the top eight scores in school history. In addition, Fernandez became the first Illini to twice advance to the NCAA individual event finals and notched the best individual finish in school history, tying for fifth on beam in 2011. Julie Crall won the 2008 Big Ten Balance Beam title and Allison Buckley became a second-team All-American on beam in 2008 under Landrus' tutelage, marking the program's first All-American at the NCAA Championships.
Landrus garnered the NCAA South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2005, and helped qualify two University of Illinois individuals to the NCAA Championships in both 2004, 2008 and 2010, something that hadn't been done at Illinois since 1987.
Prior to coming to Illinois for the 2002-03 season, Landrus spent two years as an assistant coach for Iowa State University. At ISU, her beam team finished in the top 10 nationally in 2002 with a season-high ranking of fourth. Before her coaching career, Landrus was one of the most decorated gymnasts in Cyclone history. She was ISU's first-ever national qualifier in 1997, a two-time All Big XII Conference pick, the school's Most Valuable Gymnast in 1996 and `97, and she recorded the first 10.0 in school history with a perfect performance on the floor exercise at the 1997 Big XII Championships. The four-year letterwinner was named ISU's Woman Athlete of the Year in 1997.
In addition to her stellar athletic career, Landrus also excelled in the classroom. She was a four-time Academic All-Conference selection, a two-time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American and was in the top two percent of her class when she earned a Bachelor of Science in finance in 1997. Landrus received the Big XII Postgraduate Scholarship and the NCAA Women's Enhancement Program Postgraduate Scholarship after earning her undergraduate degree.
From 1998-2000, Landrus earned an MBA degree, while serving as a graduate assistant in compliance for the university. She also was the Iowa State gymnastics meet director, and coached at Cardinal Gymnastics Academy in Ames, Iowa. She completed her master's degree in business administration in May 2000.
Landrus and her husband Steve reside in Champaign and have one son, Zachary Steven (three years).
THE LANDRUS FILE
Coaching ExperienceHead Coach, University of Illinois: 2011-present
Interim Head Coach, University of Illinois: 2010-11
Associate Head Coach, University of Illinois: 2006-2010
Assistant Coach, University of Illinois: 2002-2006
Assistant Coach, Iowa State University: 2000-2002
Coach, Cardinal Gymnastics Academy (Ames, Iowa): 1998-2002
Coaching Honors and Event Records
National Assistant Coach of the Year - 2009
South Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year - 2005
Team Score School Record - 196.975 (at State of Illinois Classic, 2011)
Beam School Record - Team (49.375, at State of Illinois Classic, 2011)
Beam School Record - Individual (Allison Buckley, 9.95, 2009)
Big Ten Beam Champion - Individual (Julie Crall, 2008)
All-Americans: 4
All-Around All-American - Melissa Fernandez, 2011 First Team
Beam All-American - Melissa Fernandez, 2011 First Team
Beam All-American - Melissa Fernandez, 2009 First Team
Beam All-American - Allison Buckley, 2008 Second Team
Personal
Maiden Name: Mazza
Education: Iowa State University, 1997, Bachelor of Science in Finance; 2000, Master's in Business Administration
Family: Husband: Steve; Son: Zachary
Updated November 2011
