Head coach Bob Starkell was named National Coach of the Year and assistants Kim Landrus and Amy Kruse were named co-Assistant Coaches of the Year on Saturday morning at the NCAA Championships banquet in Lincoln, Neb. The awards are voted on by coaches around the country.

“This is a great award for all of us, and it really shows that we are just getting recognized for the full picture,” Starkell said. “What our coaching staff has achieved in the last five years is great, and everything that our team has achieved this season proves how we can all work together toward a common goal. We just try to model ourselves after other successful gymnastic teams, and we try to do well.”

This season, the coaching staff led Illinois to its first ever appearance at the NCAA Championships and produced the school’s first ever first team All-American, Melissa Fernandez. The Illini took second at the NCAA Regionals, their highest finish in program history and they placed second at the Big Ten Championships.

Illinois also set school records in overall score and in all four events this season. The team has excelled in the classroom as well, as all 11 upperclassmen were named Academic All-Big Ten this year, achieving at least a 3.0 GPA.

Starkell said that everyone deserved honors this season because there was no individual who carried the team, but it was all the athletes and coaches working together. It is not often that coaches from the same program win Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year.

“I am just the most excited that Bob won,” Kruse said. “Bob really deserves it so much. It was more of a shock that Kim and I won.”

Under Starkell’s guidance, the Illini program has made remarkable strides in the last four years. The team has improved each year at the Big Ten Championships, the Regional Championships and in the final national rankings. Earlier this year, Starkell was named co-Big Ten Coach of the Year. He is in his 16th season on staff at Illinois and in his 10th as head coach.

Landrus has been on the Illinois staff for seven years. She serves as Starkell’s recruiting coordinator and works primarily with the balance beam. She was particularly excited about having such a successful beam season, coaching Fernandez to All-American status in the event and leading Allison Buckley to the NCAA West Regional beam title.

Landrus gave birth to her first child early in the season, which led her to miss the first two meets. She said she loves coaching gymnastics because she likes watching young women grow up and change over four years.

Kruse works as vault and floor exercise coach and is in her third season with the Illini. She led Illinois to its top five vault scores in school history this season and also helped two Illini claim individual Big Ten titles — Kelsey Joannides on vault and Sarah Schmidt on floor.

“There is no one else that I would ever pick to have as my college coaches,” Fernandez said. “They help us so much and are always so supportive, and I am really excited for everyone.”