Illinois (2-3, 0-2) fell short against No. 19 Ohio State (2-1, 2-0) Saturday in a dual meet, losing a close contest 196.000-195.800.

Showstopping sophomore

Sophomore Chloe Cho once again led the Illini. After winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, Cho has continued to achieve success. She scored another 9.900 on her marquee event, the uneven bars, where she’s ranked second nationally. 

Cho also tied her career high on the balance beam with a 9.925 after nailing her floaty switch leap, switch half and beat jump leap series. Cho was the highest scoring Illini on every event, winning the all-around event title with a 39.525.

Strong finish

Momentum built throughout the meet after a shaky start on the uneven bars, where the Illini counted three sub-9.800 scores. There were some technique issues throughout the rotation, after which they moved on to the vault. The Illini vaulted five full-twisting Yurchenkos and one front handspring style vault, unable to stick any landings. 

However, the Illini quickly hit their stride on the floor exercise. Every gymnast received at least one 9.800 score from either judge and as the team finished up with a 49.100. Going into the final rotation, Illinois led by a minuscule 0.05.

After senior Alea Byrne fell on her acrobatic series, sophomore Rachel Goldstein stopped the bleeding and paved the way for four straight routines of 9.800-plus from junior Olivia Coppola, freshman Summer Clancy, junior Lyden Saltness and Cho to finish with another 49.100 for the beam.

Season-high event scores

The Illini scored their highest event totals of the season on the vault, balance beam and floor exercise. They demonstrated marked improvements from the first two weeks. First-year head coach Josh Nilson was impressed with the improvement.

“I am proud of these ladies; they represented the University of Illinois very well,” Nilson said to Fighting Illini Athletics. “They stepped up as a team and got season highs on three of our four events. We will continue building on this, but to improve 1.700 in one week on the road is a great step forward. The future is bright.”

Youth stole the spotlight this meet, with 15 of 24 routines coming from underclassmen. Just a month into the season, the Illini are hoping to improve as time goes on and the athletes get more routines and experience under their belts.

What’s next?

Illinois returns home to compete against Maryland (4-1, 1-1) on Sunday at 2 p.m. CDT as it looks for its first conference win.

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