Chalk scattered through the air as senior Alea Byrne dismounted the beam for a final time in Huff Hall. Afterwards, she took a moment to salute and wave to the crowd, then blew a kiss in a moment she described as surreal and emotional.
This was one of many high points for Illinois (4-12) as it fell to No. 3 Alabama (9-4) 196.175-197.125 during its Senior Day celebration.
Illinois honored its four seniors – Byrne, Tali Joelson, Megan Sapp and Arielle Ward – following the end of the meet, where they finally achieved the coveted 196.
The 196 barrier has been just out of reach all season for Illinois. However, the Illini finally put together their most complete meet in the Josh Nilson era, averaging just over a 9.800 across all 20 counting routines.
According to star sophomore Chloe Cho, the head coach’s leadership, combined with this senior class, has been essential in motivating the team through the season’s ups and downs.
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“Josh’s leadership was something that, as a team, we all really wanted, and we could see helping this team,” Cho said. “I think with a lot of this team being younger, there’s a lot of importance on what culture is built, and the coaching staff has absolutely ingrained an honest and gratitude-based approach to this sport.”
These feelings of unity and intention have been hallmarks of one of the team’s main slogans: family. Cho believes utilizing their connectivity has been key, but also their desire to show out for their seniors.
“I’m really grateful for our seniors who are just really inspiring people,” Cho said. “I think they’re also very invested in all areas of their life, and that is really inspiring from an athletic perspective because gymnastics has been the most important thing throughout our whole lives, and it doesn’t have to be.”
Staying in their bubble
Early on, the Crimson Tide were rolling, setting their program record on the uneven bars with a 49.700. Junior Chloe LaCoursiere scored a 9.975, setting up SEC Freshman of the Year contender, Azaraya Ra-Akbar ,to score her first career-perfect 10.
The success of this tandem was unsurprising, as LaCoursiere is the No. 1 gymnast in the country on bars, and Ra-Akbar is No. 2.
Illinois remained consistent, mitigating the adrenaline rush of Senior Day. Byrne set a new season best on vault with a 9.825 and credited her success to her mental cues.
“I really try to focus on just what I do in practice, and honestly, sitting down before to calm my nerves and breathe,” Byrne said. “I focus on my technique and my keywords and try to hone in on that landing.”
Illinois finished with a 48.800, just above its National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 48.729.
Even though the Illini weren’t sticking landings cold, their hops were controlled and the athletes were able to get strong blocks off the table, converting the run into positive amplitude.
Building momentum
The Illini were under that 196 pace after the first rotation, but capitalized on one of their stronger events, the uneven bars.
The front half of the lineup was shaky, with junior Destiny Denning scoring a 9.800 as the bright spot. However, junior Lyden Saltness put together one of her best routines of the season to score a team-leading 9.925 on the event.
Her extension was phenomenal, catching her Ray release move with extended elbows. There was no muscling in her casts, and there was a calm rhythm throughout that spoke to her control of the apparatus.
Saltness had a devastating elbow injury prior to the start of last season that made her unable to train the event for almost two years. This has been her first year competing multiple events, and as she landed her giant full to double tuck combination dismount, her first thought was, “Here we go.”
“It was awesome, and I really was here for the seniors today,” Saltness said. “I was so thankful to be home, honor them and do what I train in practice.”
Cho preceded her with a solid 9.850, and freshman Piper Gow followed with a career-best 9.825 after sticking her own dismount, a toe-on pike half-off.
This put Illinois down 97.875-98.900 after Alabama senior Gabby Gladieux stuck her Yurchenko 1 ½ for a season best 9.925.
Taking in the moment
Moving to the balance beam, Saltness once again was a star for the Illini, adjusting her composition from previous meets.
Typically, she performed a beat jump to straddle full jump for her required dance combination. After falling on it multiple times this year, the coaching staff made the adjustment to include an aerial cartwheel to split jump instead.
“I’ve only been working on it for a week or two because on my jump, I would think about it too much,” Saltness said. “Going into the aerial, I don’t think about it as much and I’m able to adjust in the moment if I connect the leap or not.”
These changes paid off. Saltness scored a career-best 9.9, making both appearances from her 9.900+.
Byrne also came through with a crucial routine for the Illini, scoring a 9.85, a season’s best. She held the salute for a second before waving goodbye to the crowd.
“I just wanted to take every moment in and really show off what I could do in my beam routine,” Byrne said. “Just signaling to the crowd that I was done was so surreal, and it was a goal of mine this season to be myself out there and get those 9.85 plus scores.”
Freshman Summer Clancy and Cho wrapped up the beam with solid performances of 9.800 and 9.850, giving the Illini a season best of 49.150 on the event.
Meanwhile, Alabama was steady, scoring a 49.450 led by junior Jamison Sears, who posted a 9.925. Sears herself ranks No. 12 in the nation on floor and is known for her spectacular amplitude on her straddle leaps and fabulous double layout.
Finishing in style
Joelson set the stage in the final rotation for the Illini with an energetic routine that scored 9.725. After tweaking her back earlier in the week, she couldn’t even bend over. But, a spectator wouldn’t have been able to tell as she performed with nothing but charisma.
Freshman Ava Banks scored a career-high 9.850 on floor, honing in on the precision of her leaps and acrobatic landings.
Cho says that it has been exciting watching the freshmen develop throughout the season, acknowledging that she was just in their shoes a year ago.
“We love our freshmen and showing them the way,” Cho said. “It’s funny, because we were the freshmen last year, so we’re not that far off, but just being able to kind of show them around and what Illinois really means to us is so important.”
Gow scored a 9.800 to follow Banks, setting up sophomore Eden King, who tied her career-best with a 9.900. Cho concluded the meet with another 9.850, her third of the day.
Alabama continued to struggle on beam following last week, where it counted a fall. This time, it counted two sub-9.800 scores and squandered the spectacular start it had. Alabama’s slow conclusion to the meet will allow No. 4 Florida to pass them in the rankings.
The little things
From their shoulder angle off the vaulting table to planting their front foot on the ground after a tumbling pass, it’s going to be the details that matter most as the post-season looms.
Cho believes carrying momentum and not being complacent will be key.
“Yes, bringing in that 196 was a goal we really wanted, but also letting that fuel us so we can say, ‘Okay, what’s next’,” Cho said. “We can really build on this, we can grow from this, but we have to be intentional about that. It’s almost like having a little bit more pride now that we can see what we can do, rather than kind of a ‘I’m gonna do as best I can’.”
The Illini do have improvements to make, like fixing leg separations in their backswings on bars or being more aggressive with their finishing positions on beam. Cho believes that now, it’s not about just doing all the numbers, but making those little corrections.
“Dialing in on the landings or fixing that one leap that doesn’t quite get around, it’s been about getting rid of the little deductions that we can obviously do better for,” Cho said.
However, as it has been the whole season, the meet was about competing as one team and keeping everything in perspective.
“Stay together, stay united,” Cho said. “Competing complete is something we’ve been working towards, but that comes from trusting each other and enjoying our gymnastics.”
Regular season finale up next
Despite the outcome of Senior Day, Illinois continued to show resilience and determination across the lineup. With the home schedule complete, Illinois now turns its attention to its final regular-season road meet next week at No.18 Minnesota (9-4, 7-2). Fans will be able to watch the Illini in action on Big Ten Plus at 2 p.m. CDT.
The competition will serve as an important opportunity for Illinois to fine-tune routines and build confidence before the postseason begins.
The Illini will then head into the Big Ten’s Women’s Gymnastics Championships on March 20-22 at the State Farm Center, against the conference’s top programs.
