Illinois and Lindenwood to Meet for the First Time

Illinois and Lindenwood to Meet for the First Time

Mar 7, 2014 by Amanda Wijangco
Illinois and Lindenwood to Meet for the First Time
On March 8, 2014, the Fighting Illini will host the Lindenwood Lions at Huff Hall where these teams will compete against each other for the first time.

This meet is Illinois's last home meet and is, therefore, Senior Day. In addition to Senior Day, Illinois will also be honoring its gymnastics alumni for Alumni Weekend.

Farewell to Huff
This meet will be the last time the Illini seniors compete at home in Huff Hall. Illinois has three seniors this year: Sarah Fiedler, Liz McNabb and Amber See. All three are consistent competitors in the lineup. Fiedler has competed in the all-around in every meet this season and is a strong on bars.
McNabb competes bars and beam; on beam, she is capable of scoring a 9.900 which she has done once this season. See began the season competing all-around but has only competed on vault, beam and floor for the second half of the season after freshman Mary Jane Horth was added to the bars lineup. See still exhibitions on floor and is excellent on every event. At the State of Illinois Classic, See scored a perfect 10.0 on vault.


Liz McNabb, Sarah Fiedler and Amber See (© Mark Cowan | Fighting Illini Gymnastics)

In With the New
The Lindenwood women's gymnastics program is one of the newest in the country as its inaugural season was just last year. Despite this being the Lions' second season, they are ranked 58th in the country (out of 80 teams) with an RQS of  190.760. Their season high team score is a 193.025. This meet will be Lindenwood's last regular season meet.

Opposites Attract
Last weekend, the Fighting Illini competed in a dual meet at Oklahoma where they fell to the No. 3 Sooners. On the other hand, Lindenwood celebrated last weekend with a 3.000 win at Alaska-Anchorage.
Lindenwood's best event is vault where they average a 48.155. Illinois's weakest event this season has been vault, but their average is 48.969.

Beaming with Success
Illinois is currently ranked eighth on beam this week with an RQS of 49.095. This is the highest ranking the Illini have had on beam in two years. Three Illini have earned event titles on beam this year: junior Sunny Kato, freshman Lennon and McNabb. All three are capable of scoring a 9.900 on the apparatus.


Emily Lennon twists off the beam during her dismount.

Fresh Faces
As a new program, Lindenwood has a myriad amount of freshmen on their team. Four of their five freshmen contribute to the lineup: Aijea Hargrove, Aubree Horn, Olivia Oswalt and Hannah Rector. The Illini also have five freshmen, but only three of them compete: Erin Buchanan, Mary Jane Horth and Lennon.
Two of the Illini freshmen, Buchanan and Lennon, have been named Big Ten Freshmen of the Week for their stellar performances. Buchanan has won the accolade three times due to excelling on vault and floor. She is the first Illini gymnast to ever be named Freshman of the Week three times in one season.
Buchanan and Lennon also made history together as this season was the first for two Illini freshmen to earn the award in the same season. Lennon's fabulous beam performance gave her an event title and a Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor. 

Related Content