Illinois to Host Ohio State and Central Michigan During Double Meet Weekend

Illinois to Host Ohio State and Central Michigan During Double Meet Weekend

Feb 21, 2014 by Amanda Wijangco
Illinois to Host Ohio State and Central Michigan During Double Meet Weekend
This weekend is Illinois's annual double meet weekend. It begins with the State of Illinois Classic on Friday, Feb. 21 and finishes with a home tri-meet versus No. 23 Ohio State and No. 19 Central Michigan.

The Illini look to carry their momentum from last weekend as they scored a season-high 196.500 at Penn State despite the very close loss. The Buckeyes also look to carry their momentum from last weekend as they defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Chippewas are in a situation similar to the Illini as they lost by 0.025 to Kent State. 

Beaming with Competition
All three teams are ranked in the top-25 on beam. Illinois leads the way at No. 10 while Central Michigan and Ohio State follow at No. 14 and No. 19 respectively.

So Fresh
All three teams have several freshmen and a few that contribute to the lineup. Illinois and Ohio State each have five freshmen while Central Michigan has four.
Illini Erin Buchanan and Emily Lennon have both earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Four of Ohio State's five freshman have all competed at one point during the season so far. Tenille Funches appears to be the breakout freshman as she competed in the all-around versus Minnesota. Kirstin Stambaugh of Central Michigan has been a consistent competitor in the Chippewa vault lineup.

All-Around the Midwest
Sunday's tri-meet may feature a plethora of all-around gymnasts competing for that number one spot.
Illinois consistently uses seniors Amber See and Sarah Fiedler and sophomore Giana O'Connor as all-around competitors. See and O'Connor have both earned an all-around title once this season while Fiedler has been fairly consistent in the all-around with only one score below 39. 
Senior Melanie Shaffer of Ohio State often competes as an all-arounder and averages 39.400.
The Chippewas sometimes use the all-around duo of Brittany Petzold and Becca Druien. Petzold is ranked 25th in the nation in the all-around with an average of 39.225.


Sarah Fiedler competes on balance beam. (Photo courtesy of Fighting Illini Gymnastics)

As these three teams go into the second half of the regular season, they will look to score high. Illinois already has an RQS score while Ohio State and Central Michigan does not, so this meet will factor into next week's rankings using RQS. Ohio State only has four away meets, so there it is likely that this meet will determine their final RQS. This will be the same for Central Michigan as they have five away meets.

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