Illinois women’s gymnastics took second place at its session and sixth place overall on Monday at the Big Ten championships. In the morning session, Illinois competed against Maryland (196.775), Nebraska (196.250), Penn State (195.825), Rutgers (195.400) and Iowa (193.975), where it ultimately came in second place earning 196.700.
The morning was filled with impressive performances from the team across all four events. On the vault, freshman Olivia Coppola, sophomores Alea Byrne and Arielle Ward, senior Abby Mueller and graduate Mia Townes earned 49.225 points. Muller, Townes and Byrne all tied for third place (9.850), but Ward earned a 9.900 and tied for first place.
Up next on the floor, the Illini totaled an impressive score of 49.275, which was earned by junior Kadyn Fitzgibbon, senior Allie Morgan, Townes, Ward and Byrne. Both Fitzgibbon and Townes delivered performances that netted a score of 9.900 and a tie for first place as well.
On the bars, the Illini earned yet another solid score (49.100) thanks to the performances of freshman Destiny Denning, seniors Kaitlyn Ewald and Amelia Knight, graduate Mia Takekawa and Mueller. The bars were a highly competitive event within the team; both Mueller and Knight took 9.800s while Denning and Ewald took 9.825s, but Takekawa was ultimately the highest scorer and scored a 9.850 to tie for sixth place overall.
Lastly, the Illini earned another 49.100 points on the beam via routines from Ewald, Knight, Mueller, Takekawa and Townes. Townes saw a tie for third place with her score of 9.850, while an additional 0.025 for Takekawa’s performance placed her in a tie for first place.
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Mueller was also the all-around competitor for Illinois, earning a total of 39.275 points throughout the four events. This score earned a tie for the second-place spot.
Later in the night session, Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota and Michigan State all competed, earning scores of 197.050, 197.225, 197.500 and 197.600, respectively. After the last four schools competed, Illinois took sixth place overall.
The individual placements were also affected by the additional competitors. Ward’s 9.900 on the vault earned her a tie for second place. Fitzgibbon and Townes both took seventh place with their 9.900s on the floor. Takekawa also placed tenth overall on the beam with a score of 9.875. Fitzgibbon, Takekawa, Townes and Ward were also honored to be on the All-Championship team with their performances.
This was the last Big Ten championship meet for women’s gymnastics before the conference expands next year, and Takekawa shared that the team is hoping to leave a legacy and be a contender for next year as well.
“Being able to end this season on a high note so we have that momentum,” Takekawa said. “To be really a part of the conversation for championships next year.”
Illinois women’s gymnastics will compete at the NCAA championship on April 3-6. The Illini will find out their competitors, time and place for the competition at 11 a.m. CT on Monday.
