Knock on wood.

The No. 13 Illinois women’s gymnastics team is not superstitious. But what it is, is healthy.

“Outside of a couple occurrences, we’re actually doing really good. Health is key. I’ll guarantee you, come championship time, how healthy your team is will affect how far you go,” head coach Bob Starkell said. “And with our athletes, it has to do with their training and dedication, how they take care of themselves. It’s something they really pride themselves on.”

The Fighting Illini have found themselves to be in good fortune this season, mostly avoiding the injury bug — a luxury that has allowed Starkell to use a consistent lineup. That will be key down the stretch for Illinois, which faces Ohio State on Saturday at Huff Hall.

The Illini have had some recent success against the Buckeyes, winning the previous four meetings, including when the two met at last year’s Big Ten Championships. The Illini finished second with a 196.750, while Ohio State notched a fifth-place finish with a 195.900 at the meet. Despite their recent success against the Buckeyes, Starkell knows not to count them out. Ohio State is coming off a recent upset of No. 14 Penn State, to whom the Illini fell to on Feb. 6.

“Numbers-wise, they’re not that deep,” Starkell said of Ohio State. “Injury bug hit them pretty hard. But sometimes those are the teams you have to worry about. They have a few members to work with, so they get a lot of work in with them and they come out strong. I feel like that’s what they were able to do last week (against Penn State).”

With just three meets left before the Big Ten Championships, the Illini are continuing to train and keep in top physical shape.

“To say everyone is healthy is a great feeling,” junior Allison Buckley said. “It’s really important over the long drag of the season. It’s something we want to take advantage of down the stretch. I know (Ohio State) has had some problems with it, but they’ve kind of turned it around the past couple weeks, so we just have to go and perform like usual at Huff Hall.”

The meet will be broadcast tape delayed by the Big Ten Network on March 13 at 11 a.m., so Huff Hall will be filled with cameras and lights — something the gymnasts said won’t affect their performances.

“It’ll be a little different but definitely exciting,” freshman Jaclyn Kantecki said. “So far (as a freshman), I had to make some adjustments as the season went on because it’s different from how club was. We have a longer season here and it’s more physically demanding and the coaches have helped with that. This is just another thing to get used to … Our focus is still just going out there and performing.”