At the beginning of Sunday’s women’s gymnastics meet against Ohio State, about 1,000 fans in Huff Hall waited patiently as Illinois’ first competitor, senior Marijka Botterman, prepared to do her vault routine. Wondering if the Illini could rebound from a weak performance Friday night against Missouri, the fans watched in awe as Botterman set the winning tone for the Illini with a school-record score of 9.At the beginning of Sunday’s women’s gymnastics meet against Ohio State, about 1,000 fans in Huff Hall waited patiently as Illinois’ first competitor, senior Marijka Botterman, prepared to do her vault routine.

Wondering if the Illini could rebound from a weak performance Friday night against Missouri, the fans watched in awe as Botterman set the winning tone for the Illini with a school-record score of 9.950 in the vault, also good for first place in the meet.

After the meet, Botterman acknowledged her excitement about her record. But she was more excited about the team’s success, as the Illini had their highest score in school history.

“I’ve never scored that high on the vault and the team has never even come close to scoring that high ever,” Botterman said. “Our performance was completely unreal. We didn’t even know that we did that well until they announced the scores. I didn’t even realize that I broke the record.”

Head coach Bob Starkell is just as proud to see the success of Botterman, who is now ranked eighth in the nation for the vault, with an average score of 9.880. She also shared the uneven bars title on Sunday, posting a 9.775.

“A lot of the time, by a gymnast’s senior year, they are over their peak, or they get hurt, or they get tired of gymnastics,” Starkell said. “Seeing a senior doing her best gymnastics in her last year is just phenomenal.”

Starkell has coached Botterman for four years and in that time has watched her grow as a person and as a gymnast. Right now, she is in her best shape and competing at her highest level, Starkell said.

As one of the four seniors on the team, Botterman said she tries to lead not only by example but by “being able to share my experiences with the girls and talk to them if they need someone to talk to.”

“One of the best things about Marijka is that you know she would do anything for anyone,” junior Nicole Cowart said.

Botterman has been surrounded by gymnastics her entire life. Her older sister Danye competed for Illinois and graduated in 2007, while her younger sister Kylee is a sophomore on the University of Michigan’s team. The sisters even competed against each other in the season opener.

“There have been so many times that gymnastics has interfered with my school work and my social life and I have wanted to give up, but with the support of my family and my teammates, I just know that I have found something that I love,” Botterman said.

Starkell seems to think she loves it more than anyone else on the team.

“I can see Marijka coming back next year as a random foreign exchange student with a different color hair and a different name and competing for another four years,” Starkell joked.

Honorable mention

Andrew Riley, men’s track and field

The freshman from Jamaica ran the 60-meter hurdles in 7.84 seconds, the second-best time in school history, en route to a fourth-place finish at the Iowa State Classic. Riley also placed 10th and set a personal best in the 60-meter dash.

Jimmy Kennedy, wrestling

The junior, ranked third in the nation at 133 pounds, defeated Ohio State’s No. 2 Reece Humphrey, 4-3, on Sunday. Kennedy also won his match on Friday to help lead the Illini over Indiana, and his record stands at 23-2 on the season.