The Illinois women’s gymnastics team placed 2nd, scoring a 196.450 in the Big Five Meet in Champaign, Illinois.

Nebraska took first in the competition with a 196.650.

Due to there only being four events and five teams, each team took a bye sometime during the meet.

The Illini began the meat with a 49.175 on beam.

Bridget Hodan landed a 9.875, while Brielle Nguyen and Mary Jane Horth added 9.85 points each to the Illini’s score, and Haylee Roe stuck a 9.8.

“Starting out on beam I was really just trying to help out my teammates and floor was also super exciting,” Bridget Hodan said. “We went out there strong and relaxed. We had a lot of momentum going in, and the gymnast that went out before me set me up great.”

Lizzy LeDuc had noticeable uneasy spots during this rotation.

All of the gymnasts on the lineup landed stuck dismounts but did not showcase their best performances on the season.

“I think the team started off on beam really well,” head coach Kim Landrus said. “I really think their energy was super high, and we went into that bye and let loose in the locker room. They danced their hearts out on floor. It is great preparation for next weekend at the Big Ten Championships.”

On the floor rotation, the Illini received four career-highs and tallied the second-highest score in program history — a 49.450.

Roe started the rotation with a career-high 9.850.  Nguyen landed her career-high of 9.900, while Hodan set her own career-high with a 9.900. Karen Howell stuck a 9.850 — another career-high. Buchanan nailed a season-high of 9.875 and LeDuc closed out the rotation, matching her season-best of 9.925.

“They went out and did exactly what they’ve been practicing,” Landrus said. “We’re still continuing to work on the amplitude and execution to just get bigger vaults and more zoned-in on those landings, but I was extremely proud of them.”

The vault rotation’s 48.850 went smoother compared to the scores they’ve been calculating in the last two weeks.

Horth calculated a 9.825. Buchanan, who started first in the vault lineup, matched her season-high while Rae Balthazor matched her career-high with a 9.775. LeDuc earned a 9.775.

Horth landed her third bars title with a season-high of 9.950. Sarah Lyons matched her season-best on bars for the Illini’s final rotation with a 9.825.

Landrus said that Horth did phenomenally and that it was nice to finally see that routine.

Howell and Balthazor finished with 9.725 marks. LeDuc fell for another time this season, ending up with a 9.175.

Hodan said that an issue for the team is staying focused and confident.

“Transferring what we do in the gym on vault and bars specifically onto the competition floor is another issue we’ve had during the season,” Hodan said. “It’s really important to hold that confidence in those events.”

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