Last year, 0.875 separated the Illinois women’s gymnastics team from tying the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a dual meet. When they competed against one another later that year in the Minneapolis regional, the Illini only won by .25. But that was last year. This year is an entirely new story.

The Illini head into this year’s dual meet as No. 14, while the Golden Gophers are currently at No. 25. The competition isn’t as close as last year’s No. 11 vs No. 13 showdown, but the game is the same.

Illinois is currently carrying momentum from last weekend’s home win against fellow Big Ten opponent Penn State, where the Illini’s strong and consistent scores on each event gave them the victory, 196.400-195.600. Minnesota also has momentum from a home win last weekend. The Golden Gophers defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, 196.325-194.550.

Both teams are currently 2-1 in Big Ten competition, so Saturday’s meet will determine who moves up in the conference rankings.

In the national rankings, Minnesota is led by junior Lindsay Mable (No. 12 in the all-around) while Illinois is led by sophomore Mary Jane Horth (No. 23 in the all-around). The competition will be fierce as Illini sophomore Erin Buchanan and junior Giana O’Connor are expected to join Mable and Horth in the all-around.

The Golden Gophers’ best chance at taking a big lead is in the second rotation, where the Gophers will be on vault while the Illini will be on bars. The Golden Gophers are No. 20 in the vault rankings while the Illini are not in the top 20.

This will be a tough feat to accomplish, though. During the second rotation, the Illini will be on their best event of the season, the uneven bars. New Illinois assistant coach Jake Lee has led the bars lineup to a No. 7 ranking. Bars has been the only event Illinois has scored a 49 or above on in every meet of the season so far.

Only time will tell whose momentum will be favored in Saturday’s primetime meet. This Big Ten showdown begins at 7 PM central at Huff Hall. Live stats and a live stream are available.

This will be Illinois gymnastics’ annual Gym Jam meet. The first 500 fans will receive free Illini Gymnastics sunglasses, and the first 1000 fans will get free food.