The Illini (3-2, 1-1) traveled over 2,000 miles to Pauley Pavilion to battle head-to-head with new conference competitors, the UCLA Bruins (5-2, 2-0). In their home opener, the Bruins defeated the Illini 197.200-194.700. Despite the defeat, Illinois ended with some career and season highs, demonstrating a poised performance against top-tier contenders.
Success from young Illini
One Illini who stood out with her athleticism was freshman Chloe Cho. The California native felt right at home and came out strong. She finished with three career highs on the vault (9.875), uneven bars (9.850) and balance beam (9.925). Her impressive score on the beam got her the title for this event. She also finished No. 3 in the all-around competition (39.350).
“We had a lot of individual highlights during this competition that I am proud of and excited about,” said head coach Nadalie Walsh. “Chloe winning beam is top of the list, and Olivia (Coppola) rocked vault as our lead-off and has truly grown comfortable and confident on beam, which has been great to see.”
Similarly, sophomore Olivia Coppola kicked things into high gear on the vault and earned a new season high of 9.800. Then, sophomore Mareli Muller tied her career high at 9.800. Muller also finished No. 4 in the all-around competition (37.825).
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“As a team, the vaulters really stepped up,” Walsh said. “They stuck over half the landings, which was a great improvement.”
The improvements and solid showings from the young Illini are promising signs for the remainder of the season. They were not perfect, but they got closer.
Veteran performances
Though Cho took charge of the uneven bars for Illinois, senior Makayla Green and fifth-year Amelia Knight were close behind. Green finished with a score of 9.825, and Knight finished with a score of 9.800.
Later, on the floor event, senior Emmalise Nock danced and leaped her way around to a season-high score of 9.825. But, with immense talent from the Bruins, graduate student Chae Campbell took the crown, and UCLA never looked back.
On the road again
Illinois has less than a week between its competitions before the action fires up again. To close out January, the Illini take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (6-2, 1-1) in University Park on Friday. Their efforts against the Bruins were solid but not enough, and momentum must continue in this highly competitive conference.
“I’m confident that these women are eager to get back to the gym and fix the errors they made,” Walsh said. “They are a talented and dedicated team who will make the adjustments they need to make for next weekend at Penn State.”
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