It was a busy weekend at Huff Hall with a double meet for Illinois women’s gymnastics (4-4). The Illini gave it their all, emerging 1-1 on the weekend. They secured a 196.150-195.475 victory over the No. 18 Ohio State Buckeyes (2-5) but fell 197.200-196.675 to the No. 9 Missouri Tigers (7-3).
Alumni recognition
Fifty years of legacy filled Huff Hall on Friday. Alumni from the program’s 50-year stretch returned to Huff Hall to celebrate the team for a wholesome celebration of the historic milestone.
During the meet, the alumni group went to the floor, and past athletes and award winners were highlighted for their accomplishments. Throughout the meet, various pictures and videos of perfect-10 performances played across the screen.
“It was just so exciting to see all of the years of Illini gymnastics that came before us and the traditions that they had, and we’ve built off of and continued the legacy they’ve left,” said fifth-year Amelia Knight. “We have a banquet tonight, so we get to socialize with them a little bit more and hear their experiences and how things have changed.”
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Rest, recovery, rehab
With a physically demanding sport like gymnastics, athletes must let their bodies rest and recover between meets. Knight elaborated more on the recovery process and the gymnasts’ quick turnaround this weekend. They competed twice, including going to rehab on Saturday.
“We focus a lot on recovery the day after a meet,” Knight said. “We had a kind of walk-through day where we just stretched out and did some mental sets to still be in the mindset of competing but recovering at the same time.”
Welcome back
Former Illini Abby Mueller saw her way back to Huff Hall on Sunday. Mueller spent four years as an Illini before transferring to the Tigers for her fifth year of gymnastics. Knight was Mueller’s teammate for four years and spoke about Mueller’s return as a competitor.
“We must continue to support each other regardless of where we are at,” Knight said. “I think it’ll be different to see her on another team in Huff. But just overall, I’m super excited to see her. It’ll be nice to have one of the girls from my class back.”
Mueller’s entrance sparked an enormous cheer in Huff Hall as she was welcomed back. She was also seen talking to former teammates and members of the crowd shortly after the meet ended.
Victorious veterans, rising rookies
The Illini had impressive wins and career highs over the weekend. Junior Arielle Ward set a new career high on the vault for the first meet, scoring a 9.925. Ward then set a new career high of 9.950 for the second meet. She was the event winner on the vault for both of the meets.
Sophomore Olivia Coppola followed Ward’s success. She scored a 9.875 on the beam in the first meet, winning the event. Two days later, she excelled on beam again with a career-high 9.900, splitting the first-place title with teammate Knight. Senior Makayla Green was another event winner of the weekend, scoring 9.925 on the bars in the first meet.
Two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Chloe Cho had a near-perfect score on the floor. For the second meet of the weekend, Cho was the event winner with her new career high of 9.950.
An honorable rising rookie is freshman Eden King. Despite not being an event winner, King had two new career highs at Sunday’s meet. These came on the vault (9.825) and beam (9.825).
After Sunday’s meet, head coach Nadalie Walsh spoke about her happiness with her team’s improvement.
“I am very pleased with the maturity that we’re starting to see and the personalities that are developing,” Walsh said to Illinois Athletics. “I always knew this team would look a lot different in February than in January because they’re extremely talented and just needed to gain valuable experience as such a young team.”
@lauram0131
