Senior Alina Weinstein raised her hand to the judges for the last time at Huff Hall. The music started and off she went darting diagonally across the mat. Three tumbling passes and several leaps later, she finished her final floor routine, and the crowd went crazy. Her score of 9.975 was shown to the crowd, which instantly rose to its feet to give Weinstein a standing ovation.

On a day when Illinois women’s gymnastics seniors were honored for their accomplishments, it seemed only fitting that Weinstein would add a few more to her list. She added three more individual event titles, including a school-record-tying floor routine.

After competing in Missouri on Friday, the No. 19 Illini came home to a packed Huff Hall crowd for senior day Sunday, when it scored 196.300 points against Ball State and Illinois-Chicago to give the team its second win on the weekend.

“I think we did great,” Weinstein said. “It’s hard to compete two days in a row. I know we had a day off in between, but we don’t usually have two meets in a weekend. It’s great to be able to overcome our sore bodies and go out there and still put up a really good score, so I’m happy.”

The Illini opened their weekend in Columbia, Mo., where a trio of all-around performers led Illinois to a 196.300-194.125 victory. The win was Illinois’ first dual road win of the season and the third time the team scored at least 196 points.

Weinstein led the Illini with a 39.425 in the all-around and was followed closely by junior Amber See and freshman Giana O’Connor, who both scored 39.275. O’Connor, See and Weinstein marked the first time since 2011 that three Illinois gymnasts scored over 39.250 in the all-around in the same meet.

“We talk a lot about team unity, togetherness, aggressive attack, and I thought our performance really exemplified all those words,” head coach Kim Landrus said.

Illinois had Saturday off before coming home to Huff Hall for the final time this season, when the team honored Weinstein, Jaclyn Kantecki, Elise Gill and Macy Hyatt for their contributions to the team.

The Illini ended the senior night meet the same way they did against Missouri, with a 196.300 and another first-place finish, this time against Ball State and UIC, which scored 193.500 and 192.625, respectively.

“It was nice to go out on a high note,” Kantecki said. “I cherished every moment with my team, and it was just special to be here.”

Illinois started the meet on vault, the only event of the day where it didn’t score higher than 49. Weinstein and See, who scored 9.875 and 9.850, respectively, led the Illini.

From there the team moved to bars, where a 9.900 from sophomore Sunny Kato won her an individual event title and helped the team score a 49.100.

“I thought we did really well as a team,” said Kantecki, who alongside Weinstein is the only senior to compete regularly. “We didn’t exactly start off as strong as we would have liked to, but I think that we really picked it up from there. The little mistakes didn’t faze us, and we finished really strong.”

After a 49.050 on beam, the team ended its night and the seniors’ careers on floor. See broke the career-high she tied against Missouri when she posted a 9.950. Weinstein scored a 9.975, which tied her school record.

After the meet ended, the public announcer introduced the four seniors and their accomplishments as they walked onto the floor one final time with their parents.

“Oh gosh, it was amazing,” Weinstein said. “You never really realize when it’s going to be over until it gets there and then it’s over. It’s always so much fun to compete at Huff Hall, so I’ll miss it, but I put my heart out there, and it was awesome.”

See shared her feelings as an upcoming senior.

“It definitely makes me think of my future as a senior,” See said. “It’s gonna be us next year, and the time has just gone by so quickly. I’m really proud of each individual senior, they’ve done a great job in their careers as role models and as gymnasts, and it means a lot to honor and support them.”

Nick can be reached at [email protected] @IlliniSportsGuy.