Illini women's gymnastics peaks at Big Tens, fails to reach Nationals
By Ashley Wijangco
May 10, 2015
The Illinois women's gymnastics team had one target all season long: to place in the top 10 at NCAA Championships. The Illini failed to reach that goal, but sophomore Mary Jane Horth felt the season still went wellmp."We put together some great meets this season and had a lot of learning experiences," Hort...
Illini of the Week 4/22: Giana O’Connor
April 22, 2015
One event stood in the way of Giana O’Connor and the end of her junior season on the Illinois women’s gymnastics team: the uneven bars. As an individual all-around competitor at NCAA Championships, O’Connor competed at the end of every rotation, following a team’s lineup. She was rotating with U...
Naleway finishing her time as “mom” for the Illinois women’s gymnastics team
April 15, 2015
Jordan Naleway earned her first varsity letter — commemorating her first collegiate season — at the 2012 Illinois gymnastics awards banquet. But that night, Naleway was also deemed the next “mom” of the women’s gymnastics team. Then-senior Hannah Welker had a gray “Illinois Mom” t-shirt ...
Illinois women’s gymnastics season ends at Morgantown Regional
April 6, 2015
The Illinois women’s gymnastics team had been working toward one goal all season: a third-straight trip to NCAA Nationals. All Illinois had to do to make that dream a reality was finish in the top two at the Morgantown Regional on Saturday night. The Illini walked into the WVU Coliseum in Morganto...
Illinois women’s gymnastics to compete at Morgantown Regional
April 2, 2015
The No. 14 Illinois women’s gymnastics team has worked toward the goal of making a third-straight trip to nationals all season long, and the gymnasts can finally make that goal a reality at Saturday’s NCAA Regionals. On March 23, the Illini were selected to compete in the Morgantown Regional at th...
Illinois women’s gymnastics heads to Big Ten Championships
March 19, 2015
The Illinois women’s gymnastics team has concluded its regular season and is set to begin its postseason with the Big Ten Championships on Saturday at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Coming off a first-place finish at the Big Five Meet last week, senior Kelsi Eberly knows her team is lo...
O’Connor ties Illinois all-around record, Weinstein returns
March 3, 2015
Junior Giana O’Connor checked her phone after leading the Illinois women’s gymnastics team to a second-place finish at the Masters Classic in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sunday afternoon. She had a congratulatory text message from former Illini gymnast Alina Weinstein. O’Connor had just tied Weinstei...
Illinois women’s gymnastics takes second at Masters Classic
March 2, 2015
The No. 16 Illinois women’s gymnastics team failed to defeat two top-10 teams this weekend, but overall, junior Giana O’Connor still felt her team did well with the double-meet weekend, as the Illini had “really good” performances. To begin, Illinois faced No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday night at Huf...
Illinois women’s gymnastics comes through for win over Minnesota
February 9, 2015
Two falls on the balance beam weren’t enough to deter the No. 14-ranked Illinois women’s gymnastics team from achieving a 195.775-195.375 win over No. 25 Minnesota on Saturday night at Huff Hall. Junior Giana O’Connor was the lead-off on beam. Right before her dismount, she fell during her leap-...
Sophomore Illinois women’s gymnasts overcome difficulties to make impact
February 3, 2015
Sophomore Erin Buchanan looked to her left while answering a question. She spotted her teammate and classmate Mary Jane Horth messing around on a men’s apparatus after a Tuesday practice. “What is she doing? P-bars?” Buchanan said with a laugh. Appropriately, Buchanan made the observation upon being...
Illinois women’s gymnastics hopes to break 29-year losing streak against Michigan
January 22, 2015
Last February, the Illinois women’s gymnastics team came up just short — 0.226 points to be exact — of defeating Michigan and ending its losing streak against its conference rival. Illinois’ losing streak against Michigan stands at 43 meets, including head-to-head meets, Big Ten Championships,...
Women’s gymnasts win decisive season opener
January 20, 2015
Only one week separated the Illinois women’s gymnastics team’s season opener and home opener, but that didn’t stop the gymnasts from making significant gains in their 196.175-192.775, home-opening win over Rutgers. “They touched well, and went out and competed with confidence,” head coach Kim ...
