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Meet at UIC Up Next for #18 Illinois
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Senior Hannah Welker and the Illini will compete against UIC on Saturday in Chicago.
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Feb. 22, 2012
Complete Meet Notes (PDF) | Live Stats
Week 7 Notes: #18 Illinois at UIC
Feb. 25, 2012 // 5 p.m. CT // Chicago, Ill. // UIC Physical Education BuildingThe Meet
No. 18 Illinois will head to Chicago for a contest against UIC on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. The meet between in-state foes will be held at the UIC Physical Education Building. The Illini defeated the Flames twice last season, including a 195.975-192.150 victory at Huff Hall and a school-record performance of 196.975 at the State of Illinois Classic.
Scouting the Competition
UIC is coming off a season-high 195.250 against Southeast Missouri State, as the Flames improved to 7-3 overall this year. UIC owns a season average of 193.581, which ranked 35th nationally. The Flames top event is uneven bars (28th, 48.513) followed by beam (30th, 48.203), floor (42nd, 48.394) and vault (43rd, 48.472).
A Look Back
Illinois had a busy weekend with a pair of competitions last week. The Illini tied Michigan State at 195.175 on Friday at Huff Hall before topping No. 25 Arizona State with a season-high score on the road, 195.775-195.525.
Friday's meet, which had both the Illini and Spartans sporting pink leotards for breast cancer awareness, came down to the wire, as both squads hit their routines during the final rotation. The Spartans scored a 49.000 on beam to close the meet while the Illini finished with a 48.950, resulting in Illinois' second tie this season. The Illini retained a share of the Victory Plank after capturing the rivalry trophy during each of its first two seasons in existence. Junior Elise Gill won her first career event title, as she shared the floor crown with sophomore Amber See.
During Sunday's contest, the Illini used a season-high 49.200 on floor to take the lead over ASU, and senior Kelsey Joannides sealed the season-high win with a 9.900 on beam to earn the top spot in the team's final performance. Joannides' stellar beam routine also clinched the all-around title with a season-high 39.350 while the Frederick, Md., native also won on vault (9.850) to total three titles in Tempe. The Orange and Blue trailed ASU 97.725-97.600 entering the third rotation, but four scores of 9.825 or higher on floor vaulted the Illini back in front of the Sun Devils. Junior Alina Weinstein, who won the first floor title of her career, paced the effort with a personal-best 9.900. On the final event at Wells Fargo Arena, Illinois hit five routines on beam to complete its third win of the year.
Consistent Illini
Illinois has scored over a 195 in five of the first seven meets of 2012, marking the most number of times they have eclipsed that mark in the first seven meets in program history. The Illini did so in four of the first seven contests last season on their way to recording a school-record 11 scores of 195 or higher in 14 competitions. The Orange and Blue boast an average score of 195.036 along with a season-high 195.775 against Arizona State. They also turned in the highest season opener ever with a 194.725 against Minnesota.
A Must "See" on Floor
Sophomore Amber See, who is tied for 11th in the nation on floor with an average of 9.875, has won the event crown five times this season, including at each of the first four meets and against Michigan State. The Minnetonka, Minn., native opened the year with a 9.850 followed by three consecutive 9.9s to earn top honors. She grabbed the runner-up spot with a 9.875 in a loaded field at the Chicago Style Invitational and has not finished outside the top three after taking third at Arizona State. She has notched a score of 9.800 or higher at each of the last 13 meets dating back to last season and owns six career floor titles.
All Tied Up...Again
Ties in dual meets are a rare occurrence for Illinois gymnastics, as the Illini did not have a single dual meet tie during the program's first 37 years of competition. Last season, Illinois had its first tied dual meet ever when they finished at 195.350 along with Ohio State in Columbus. This year, the Orange and Blue have already twice ended a meet with the same team total as their opponent. Illinois tied with Iowa on Jan. 21 at 195.075 and with Michigan State on Feb. 17 at 195.175.
All-Around Trio
Illinois has showcased three all-around competitors during the 2012 season and each has earned the top spot at a meet this season. Junior Alina Weinstein, who has four scores over 39, turned in the ninth-best performance in school history with a career-high 39.400 at Michigan and notched her second-highest score of 39.225 at Arizona State. Senior Kelsey Joannides owns three titles at Iowa (39.175), vs. Ohio State (39.175) and a season-high 39.350 at Arizona State while also notching a 39.300 in a runner-up showing at Michigan. Sophomore Amber See made her career debut in the all-around at Iowa with a 39.100 and tied for first against Ohio State with a personal-best score of 39.175.
Taking the Top Spot
Illini gymnasts have totaled 27 individual titles during the 2012 season. At the season opener against Minnesota, sophomore Amber See rated first on floor and there was a three-way tie for first between juniors Macy Hyatt and Jaclyn Kantecki and sophomore Sarah Fiedler on bars. The event title was the third career for Kantecki and first ever for Hyatt and Fiedler. Against the Hawkeyes, senior Kelsey Joannides took the top spot on vault, bars, beam and in the all-around while See came away with the floor crown. At Michigan, junior Alina Weinstein grabbed first in the all-around and bars while also sharing top honors on beam with Joannides, and See won the floor title. Against Ohio State, Joannides snagged first on bars and tied for first in the all-around with See, who tied for first on beam with Elizabeth McNabb and captured the floor crown for the fourth meet in a row.
Junior Elise Gill earned her first career title by tying for first on floor with See, who also took first in the all-around against Michigan State. Joannides notched three titles at Arizona State (VT, BB, AA) while Weinstein nabbed her first floor crown with a career high (9.900). Joannides now leads the team with 10 victories this season followed by See with seven and Weinstein with four.
Illini in the Rankings
The Illini remained at No. 18 in the national rankings for the second week in a row with an average of 195.036. Illinois spent the first two weeks of the season at No. 15 and reached as high as No. 14 before spending the following two weeks at No. 19. The Orange and Blue are ranked in the top 25 on three events, including 13th on bars (48.839), 14th on floor (48.950) and 15th on beam (48.643). Individually, sophomore Amber See is tied for 11th on floor (9.875) while senior Kelsey Joannides is tied for 29th on beam (9.818) and 33rd in the all-around (39.092).
A Look Ahead
Illinois will host "Gym Jam" presented by FOX 55/27 Illinois on Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at Huff Hall, featuring a double dual meet with the Illini women facing Kentucky and the Illini men squaring off with Ohio State.
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