The Illini finished their home season strong when they sacked the Michigan State Spartans at Huff Hall on Saturday. Illinois came away with a 194.275-193.775 victory on Senior Day, which was the last home meet for seniors Emily Earle and co-captain Katie Wild.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better finish for myself,” Wild said. “Everyone on the team did a great job – it was a good ending.”

Head coach Bob Starkell said he wasn’t sure what to anticipate going into the meet because of last minute lineup changes. He said putting new faces in the lineup is characteristic of the beginning of the season, but the Illini adjusted well.

Illinois began the meet on vault posting a 48.500. Junior Danye Botterman won the event with a score of 9.750 for first place. Freshman Lindsey Smith followed in second with a 9.725. Starkell said his team began the season strong on vault, and he is glad the Illini have remained strong on the event throughout the season.

The Illini moved to bars where they swept the top three places. Junior co-captain Cara Pomeroy took first place with a 9.875. Danye Botterman and freshman Marijka Botterman finished out the top three with a 9.800 and 9.775, respectively. Marijka Botterman’s score tied her personal best on the event and the team finished the event scoring a 48.625.

“On bars and beam we had some individuals who don’t compete too often,” Starkell said. “They had a little bit of extra pressure on them so we had some mistakes to count there.”

Even with the small mistakes counted on bars and beam, Starkell said the team did not have any major deductions. However, the small mistakes attributed to the Illini’s lowest event score of the meet on beam where they posted a 48.225. Freshman Julie Crall tied for third with a 9.725. Wild followed Crall taking fifth with a 9.700.

“Floor was a great finish,” Wild said. “Everyone finished through with what we’ve been practicing. We had a few ups and downs throughout the meet so (floor) was a great way to pick ourselves up and finish strong.”

Danye Botterman finished on floor achieving her second event title of the meet. She scored a 9.825. She said it was the first time she competed floor at home this season, so she was glad to win the title during the last home meet.

“Danye is starting to get back to where she really enjoys being,” Starkell said. “She’s competing on more events, and her demeanor in practice is much more energetic. This is Danye’s time of year – she’s all about championships.”

Starkell said he appreciates how his team finished the meet, and attributed its performance on floor to be able to get ahead of Michigan State. Wild (9.800), Crall (9.800), Pomeroy (9.750), and Marijka Botterman (9.750) rounded out the top five places on floor to achieve a team total 48.925. Marijka Botterman’s score was a personal best.

“Everyone came in pumped up since this is the last home meet,” Danye Botterman said. “Everyone had energy and did this for the seniors to make them remember Huff Hall as it is now.”

Starkell said the team began to feel “good pressure” with the energy and the crowd getting it geared up for the Big Ten Championships. His focus now will be training hard for the championships and keeping the seniors focused and performing well.

“This is the time of year the team trains all pre-season for,” Starkell said. “Now we’re focused in and will train hard for the championships.”