It was a packed house at Huff Hall on Saturday as No. 21 Illinois (7-7, 3-3) defeated Washington (3-9, 0-6) and Illinois State (12-6) for Senior Day. The competition was neck-and-neck, but strong performances on the uneven bars and balance beam led to Senior Day success.
Honoring the seniors
Head coach Nadalie Walsh shared her mixed emotions after the Illini honored six graduating athletes.
“I could have been a little sad to see these girls leave,” Walsh said. “I think what really helped is that we’re not done, and we still have four or five meets left and then the postseason. I think a lot of the emotions come more with a lot of gratitude, excitement and gratefulness for them.”
Unlike most sports, Illinois held its Senior Day halfway into the season. A few veterans had noteworthy performances on the special day. Senior Ruthuja Nataraj moved swiftly on the beam to secure a season-high score of 9.875. With that, she took home the crown and helped Illinois stay atop the leaderboard in this category.
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Additionally, fifth-year Amelia Knight scored a season-high 9.900 on the uneven bars to grab the event title. Although she didn’t strike gold, senior Emmalise Nock put on a stellar show on the floor and scored 9.900. It might not be their final meet, but they certainly performed like it was.
“I’m really proud of all the young women they are,” Walsh said. “I hope that they’ll take the life lessons into the rest of their lives, their families and their careers because gymnastics really was something that could be a tool to help mold them into who they are.”
When asked what she would say to her seniors, Walsh said, “Hang onto everything that you can remember so that you can apply it. All of them are beautiful young women, and I’m excited that I had the opportunity to be a part of their journey.”
Additional shoutouts
While Saturday featured much excitement from the seniors, several underclassmen had their time in the spotlight, too. Freshman Chloe Cho continues to rack in wins this season. She earned another all-around win with a score of 39.200.
Then, on the beam, sophomore Olivia Coppola followed closely behind Nataraj. She scored a 9.850, just 0.05 shy of her career high. Another performance that was just 0.05 away from a career-high score was junior Tali Joelson’s floor exercise. On Saturday, she flipped and danced her way around to a score of 9.825.
Inconsistent judging
Even with Saturday’s win, the team saw some lower scores despite excellent performances. Walsh specifically highlighted Cho’s 9.800 on the bars when she scored a career-high of 9.950 the previous week.
“As much as it can be frustrating to see Chloe Cho hit every handstand, stick her dismount and (get) 9.800 from a judge, I know we’re not the only team in the country that is frustrated with that,” Walsh said.
Walsh isn’t the only one who noticed some differences in gymnastics scoring. College Gym News specifically highlighted the lack of consistency involving over-scoring certain athletes or rewarding the same score to different athletes when one performance was visibly better.
“You never really know what judge you’re going to get in the chair,” Walsh said. “You don’t really know what their preference is, if they’re going to apply the rules militantly or if they’re going to be a little bit more loose.”
Other NCAA head coaches have spoken out on their struggles with scoring as well. In an article from The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah (10-4) head coach Carly Dockendorf expressed her frustrations on the topic.
“Ultimately, we can’t control what the judges do,” Dockendorf said. “I’m not going to lie, though. It is really hard to do a beautiful routine and then not feel like you’re getting rewarded for it.”
This is a long-standing issue, one that stems beyond the fans and the coaches. Florida (7-3) senior Chloi Clark took to social media to share her thoughts two years ago.
“It is just as frustrating for the athletes as it is for you guys,” Clark said.
The important part of these experiences is being able to move on from potential discrepancies.
“What I’ve grown to realize is I’m never going to tell my team we’re victim to the judge,” Walsh said. “If they had the opportunity to take a deduction, let’s go back into the gym, let’s find that deduction and let’s work on making it better.”
@lauram0131
