No. 20 Illinois may have had a home-court advantage in its
Big Ten matchup against Iowa, but it wasn’t enough. In its annual pink meet, Illinois fell to Iowa,
195.125-196.275. Iowa remains undefeated in conference.

The Fighting Illini hit all six vaults, but their lack of
difficulty hurt them, putting them behind the Hawkeyes, 48.625-49.125. The
Hawkeyes had a mistake halfway into the uneven bar rotation, but the preceding
and following gymnasts prevailed. Hawkeye redshirt senior Johanny Sotillo led
with a 9.900 anchor routine to win the event title.

Photo: © Amanda Wijangco

The bad luck didn’t leave the bars as Illinois struggled in
the second rotation. With two low-scoring routines, Illinois had to count a
9.550. On the other hand, Iowa hit six-for-six on vault, totaling a 49.000. Heading
into the third rotation, Iowa continued to lead 98.125-97.425.

Usually a solid event for the Illini, the unfortunate luck carried
over to beam. Though the Illini didn’t have to count a fall, balance checks
cost them as they counted another 9.550. Floor wasn’t the best for the Hawkeyes
either, but all counting scores were a 9.700 or above for a total of 49.025. They
increased their lead, 147.150-146.050.

Photo: © Amanda Wijangco

Illinois shook off the mistakes of the previous rotations
and saved their best for last. All six Illinois floor competitors scored a
9.700 or above, led by the all-around upperclassmen duo of Erin Buchanan and Giana O’Connor with their clean tumbling and entertaining routines. Beam wasn’t perfect for Iowa either, but their top five routines were good enough for an event total 49.125. Iowa’s all-around upperclassmen duo topped their rotation
to share the event title.

Illini freshman Lizzy LeDuc earned a career-best 39.200 in the all-around.

The Hawkeyes’ upset over the Illini was the first in
Champaign since 2009.


Full results can be found below.