Women’s gymnastics places 6th
Illinois’ Melissa Fernandez performs on the balance beam at the NCAA Championships. Fernandez scored a 9.900 and advanced to Saturday’s individual event finals. By making it to the event finals she earned First Team All-America honors, becoming the first Illini in school history to do so.
April 17, 2009
The No. 11 Illinois women’s gymnastics team concluded their season on Thursday night, finishing sixth of six teams in their session at the NCAA National Championships in Lincoln, Neb. No. 3 Alabama (197.025), No. 10 Arkansas (196.950), No. 2 Utah (196.625), No. 7 UCLA (196.625) and No. 6 Oregon State (195.250) finished ahead of Illinois.
The Orange and Blue failed to advance to the team finals.
Scoring a 195.050, one of their lowest scores of the season, the Illini were feeling anxious.
“We did fairly well for our first appearance at the national championships,” head coach Bob Starkell said.
“The younger girls did especially well, but everyone was just a little wobbly, I think that they were showing signs of nerves.”
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After coming off a strong showing at the NCAA Regional competition two weeks ago, five Illini gymnasts were plagued with the flu early this week, resulting in sore bodies, Starkell said.
“I was really nervous at first, I think we all were,” sophomore Melissa Fernandez said.
“It was a little intimidating looking at all the other schools, but the practice session helped us gain confidence.”
Fernandez had the best performance for the Illini, tying for first place on the balance beam with a score of 9.900.
She made school history by becoming the first gymnast to ever make the event finals and earned First Team All-American honors.
Junior Sarah Schmidt tied for sixth on the floor with a 9.850, thus earning Second Team All-American honors.
“I am really proud of Mel and Sarah because they performed to their highest potential,” Starkell said.
Fernandez will compete in the individual event finals on Saturday.
“I am really excited, it just seems surreal right now,” Fernandez said.
“I just did my normal routine and I hit it so hopefully I will do the same thing on Saturday and just be less nervous.”
Now that the season has come to an end, Starkell is already looking forward to next year. This has been the most successful team in the history of the program and he hopes that this season has set a new tone for Illinois gymnastics.
“We’re glad that we were able to represent the University of Illinois and now we just want to be at nationals next year and do even better,” Starkell said.
