Huff hall will be a whirlwind of emotions Sunday at 2 p.m., but before the No. 19 Illinois women’s gymnastics team gets to say goodbye to its seniors it must first face Missouri on Friday.

The Illini will face Missouri in Columbia, Mo., before coming home to celebrate the careers of four seniors against Ball State and Illinois-Chicago, an occasion that will more than likely include some crying.

“Oh gosh, it’s something I don’t want to think about,” senior Jaclyn Kantecki said. “It’s going to be emotional toward the end when we realize it was our last time competing in Huff, but it doesn’t change the day or the gymnastics. I’m definitely going to cherish every moment I have with my team.”

For the first time this season the Illini will compete twice in the same weekend, something that head coach Kim Landrus sees as a positive.

“I actually love the double weekend,” Landrus said. “We do far more in practice than we ever do in a meet, so I actually think to have two meets in one weekend is the best opportunity and the best weekend of the entire season, minus championships and postseason.”

Senior Alina Weinstein also enjoys the double meet weekend.

“I think it will be a little easier,” she said. “When you go out for a competition, you compete once. Your assignment is one routine on every event, so it’s a little easier and (the meet at Missouri) will be a good preparation for senior meet.”

Missouri, like Illinois, has been up and down this season, coming in second to Arkansas in a quad meet last weekend and losing to Georgia the week before.

The Illini will finish their weekend against Ball State and UIC, two teams which are moving in complete opposite directions. The Flames are on a roll, having beaten Western Michigan and won a quad meet in the last two weeks, whereas Ball State has lost its last two.

“I believe we’re ranked higher than them but that shouldn’t change our outlook or how we approach our gymnastics,” Kantecki said. “We just have to worry about getting our own job done.”

The Illini have lost their last two meets to Ohio State and Penn State but feel they can get back on track by competing the way they practice.

“We need to find that extra half tenth here and there because we definitely have it in us and we just need to hit all at once and translate our week of practice to the meet.”

Illinois’ goals are as simple as Weinstein’s individual ones. Weinstein wants to “hit 4-for-4 and go out with a bang.”

“As a team we want to hit 24-for-24 without any major deductions,” Landrus said. “We’ve said all along that we have a talented group and I’m just waiting for us to put every routine together on the same day.”

The Illini will honor Weinstein, Kantecki and fellow seniors Elise Gill and Macy Hyatt, but Landrus said the emotions of the day wont affect the gymnastics.

“Senior day is really special for our seniors and for the Illinois fans to honor the careers our seniors have had. As far as the meet, the meet is the exact same as normal and we do all of our recognitions after the competition is over. So although it is special at the same time, there are still 24 routines and our gymnastics stays the same.”

Nicholas can be reached at [email protected] and @IlliniSportsGuy.