Jan. 29, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ­- The Illinois Women's Gymnastics meet against Iowa from Friday, Jan. 25, will air tonight (Jan. 29) on the Big Ten Network from 7-9 p.m. CT, with Jim Kelly and Mary Lee Tracy calling the action. It will mark the second BTN women's gymnastics broadcast in history and the first-ever for the Illini. The Big Ten Network is available on DirecTV Ch. 220 and Dish Network Ch. 439, as well as hundreds of cable providers across the country.

Following tonight's broadcast, the meet will be re-broadcast on three separate occurrences:
Friday, Feb. 1 at 9 a.m.
Sunday Feb. 3 at 5 p.m.The 22nd-ranked Illini defeated the No. 25 Hawkeyes by a score of 193.650-192.975. Illinois posted their top scores of the season on vault and floor with scores of 48.700 and 48.650, respectively. Sophomore Sarah Schmidt won the all-around title with a career-high 39.050, while freshman Allison Buckley won both the vault and floor titles for the second consecutive week. Junior Julie Crall sealed the victory for the Illini with her first place performance on beam with a score of 9.875. In all, the Illini set or tied nine career-highs and 13 season-highs on the night.

The No. 25 Illini are back home this weekend hosting No. 13 Denver Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Illini are teaming up with the American Cancer Society to host the first Pink Meet, where fans are encouraged to join the gymnasts in wearing pink to help raise awareness for breast cancer. The Illini's next Big Ten Network broadcast will be Saturday, Feb. 16 against Michigan State, which will air on Feb. 21 at 5 p.m.