Morning Session

The first rotation started well for Illinois as they competed on floor. The Illini were very consistent and posted four consecutive scores of 9.775 prior to the final two scores of 9.850. Junior Erin Buchanan and freshman Lizzy LeDuc led the way for the Illini in the absence of senior Giana O’Connor, who tore her ACL and meniscus at last weekend’s Big Five Meet.

Iowa and Maryland had solid first rotations, beginning on uneven bars and vault respectively. The Hawkeyes counted scores of 9.700 and above while the Terps had five vaults in the 9.700 range. Rutgers had a bit of a rough start to the conference championships as they had to count three scores below 9.700.

After the first rotation, the Illini led with a 49.025, the Hawkeyes close behind with a 48.875. 

While Iowa stayed consistent heading into the second rotation, Illinois did not carry their momentum to vault. The Illini lacked difficulty in their vault lineup and only had two scores of 9.700 or higher. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes didn’t let a fall from Mollie Drenth deter their beam performances.

The Terps and Scarlet Knights both improved their event scores in the second rotation. On bars, Maryland started off slow with a 9.650 and a fall, but the following four gymnasts hit to score a 48.625. On floor, Rutgers carried the energy of one floor routine to the other, as the scores continually increased from 9.750 to start to 9.875 to end.

After the second rotation, the Hawkeyes narrowly took the lead from the Illini, 97.575 - 97.375. The Terps and Scarlet Knights headed into the third with a 97.150 and 97.075, respectively.



The third rotation was an improvement from the second for Illinois as they competed on bars. Despite a fall, Illinois fared relatively well for the rest of the lineup to post a 48.825. Senior Sunny Kato led the way with a 9.850. Iowa didn’t let a fall on beam affect their performance on floor, as they earned a 49.125 on the event. The Hawkeyes were very consistent and solid in the third rotation, counting five scores of 9.825.  

Beam was not Maryland's best. The first two routines had falls, meaning no matter what the Terps would have to count one. It was not easy for them to shake it off as the following two routines included noticeable mistakes for two scores in the 9.500 range. The final third of Maryland’s beam rotation, however, were solid for a 9.800 and 9.675.

Rutgers’ third rotation was their second best of the night. The Scarlet Knights scored from 9.750 to 9.825 on vault to earn a 48.925 on the
event.

Heading into the final rotation, the Hawkeyes maintained and increased their lead over the Illini, Terps and Scarlet Knights, 146.700-146.350-144.825-146.000, respectively.

Usually the Illini’s best event, beam did not go as anticipated for Illinois. While it started and ended strong with scores of 9.850 from Kato and Bridget Hodan, the scores were up and down throughout the rotation. The Illini finished the event with a 48.825, ending the meet with a 195.175.

The Hawkeyes ended on what was their best event of the night. Every score they counted was above 9.775, including a huge 9.925 from Drenth on vault. Iowa finished the event with a 49.175, giving the team a session-high 195.875.

Maryland didn’t let its less-than-ideal beam rotation hinder their performance on floor. The Terps’ 49.200 on floor was the highest event score of the session. The Terp gymnasts built off each other as each score was equal to or better than the last. To finish the meet, Maryland earned a 194.025.

To end the meet, Rutgers competed on uneven bars, where the Scarlet Knights earned a 48.775. They earned a 194.775 to place third in the
session.

 
Evening Session

Michigan was solid throughout the entire competition, scoring 49.200 or higher on each event. Junior Nicole Artz led the way for the Wolverines on beam (9.925) and floor (9.975) while Olivia Karas and Brianna Brown earned a 9.925 on vault and 9.950 on bars, respectively.



Michigan State did well on the power events, scoring a 49.000 or above on vault and floor, but fell a bit short on bars and beam. Floor was very solid and consistent with all six scores in the 9.800 or 9.900 range. Michigan State counted vaults ranging from 9.750 to 9.850. The Spartans had a fall on bars but the rest of the line up picked up the slack, and they did not have to count it. On beam, they had to count scores in the 9.400 and 9.600 range after a 9.225. Lisa Burt was the only Spartan to score 9.7+ on beam.

Minnesota was also rock solid throughout the conference championship, scoring above 49.0 on all four events. As usual, Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Lindsay Mable led the Golden Gophers with an incredible performance scoring 9.9 or higher on bars, beam and floor. 

Nebraska, also scored 49+ on every event, and put up a tough fight for Michigan. The Huskers’ best event was, by far, uneven bars. They counted four scores of 9.900 and two 9.875s. Hollie Blanske was huge for Nebraska, especially on vault, where her powerful and dynamic performance earned a near-perfect 9.975.

Ohio State hit all of their routines on each event except for beam, and put up a very solid overall performance. Vault, beam and floor were 49.0 or higher, and beam was still a solid 48.700. The Buckeyes only had to count one score in the 9.60 range, showing great consistency throughout.

Penn State hit 24 for 24 in the conference championship. Kiera Brown and Oni Timothy led the Nittany Lions’ performance with a 9.950 on bars and a 9.900 on floor, respectively.

In the end, Michigan came out on top with a 197.125, winning their 22nd Big Ten Championship in women’s gymnastics. Nebraska came in a close second with a 196.9, with Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Michigan State to follow. 


Related:
Big Ten Championships 2016 Results
Who To Watch For At Big Ten Championships