After a long and high achieving season for juniors Mia Townes and Mia Takekawa, they gave their final performances of the 2021-2022 season in Fort Worth, Texas.

Though the size of the arena and bright lights caught the gymnasts off guard at first, they managed to do what they do best, with Townes finishing in 14th place in the vault with a 9.8375 while Takekawa finished 20th on the uneven bars with a 9.8375.

Rotating alongside Minnesota, the two stood by each other on a national stage, making sure that the Illinois leotard was proudly displayed to the entire country.

“I could not be more proud of them, they’ve handled this level of competition beautifully,” head coach Nadalie Walsh said. “Both of them belonged here.”

Both gymnasts set the bar for the rest of the team, cultivating the culture and goals of the team for years to come. 

“The more that people believe, the more they will change their intensity in the offseason to have their actions reflect their desires and their goals,” Walsh said. “They’re going to have a greater level of expectation for the whole team to be there next year.”

Both gymnasts will be entering their final year of eligibility but hope that their experience will motivate others to push themselves to reach that next level. While the Big Ten is a tough conference to compete in, the duo feels that they are at that level.

“Now that we’ve seen the national stage, I know that our team is capable. Definitely proud of what the team has accomplished but always hungry for more,” Takekawa said. “My sticky note for next year will be team nationals.”

“Being able to go back and have them understand the reality of who goes to nationals and why they go to nationals is really important to grasp as a team,” Townes said. “From there we’ll be able to set the expectations, set the standard and hopefully everyone hops on board.”

While achieving this milestone is a challenge within itself, Walsh doesn’t doubt the potential of the team to keep striving for the bright lights.

“Revival comes from the remnants,” Walsh said. “These two are going to bring something back that can revive the rest of the program and the team into the direction of qualifying as a whole program. Once it’s done, it’s easier to do it again.”

Once a program reaches a stage like this, it often begins cultivating a reputation of a winning program. Both gymnasts and their coach believe that Illinois has finally reached that level.

“Who they are, the energy, the culture they have will continue to bring in great athletes to our team,” Walsh said.

@JonathanAlday7

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