In their final home meet of the season, the No. 22 Illinois Fighting Illini host the Illinois State Redbirds, the UIC Flames and the Northern Illinois Huskies for the annual State of Illinois Classic.

The Illini are coming off a successful double meet weekend, winning a home meet against Iowa State and a Sunday showdown at Lindenwood. Both scores from last weekend are two of their highest in 2016.  Illinois State, UIC and Northern Illinois are all coming off third place finishes at quad meets, but this will be Illinois’s first quad meet of the season.

Illinois

The Illini have been solid on beam all season long, never scoring below a 48.625. Senior Sunny Kato and freshman Lizzy LeDuc have anchored the rotation for the entire season and have earned those spots with fantastic beam routines with clean lines and lovely skills. Both have scored above 9.900 this season.


While solid in the all-around, junior Erin Buchanan and senior Giana O’Connor have been strong competitors on their favorite events, vault and floor. Each showed their power and control by winning titles on both events during their double meet weekend.

Watch O'Connor rock floor:

Illinois State

Brandy Johnson’s alumna Meredith LaRoche has made an immediate impact on the Redbirds despite being a freshman. She competes all-around and most recently scored a 9.850 on floor last weekend, showing a vast improvement since the beginning of the season.


Also, be on the lookout for bars-and-beam specialist Amanda Mohler, who has shown throughout the season just why those two events are her specialties.  She tied for first with a score of 9.800 in last week’s quad meet on beam, showcasing her flexibility and gorgeous toe point.

Northern Illinois

Watch our for junior Megan Greenfield, who has shown great improvement for the Huskies on floor and scored a 9.900 two weeks ago at Ball State. Her floor scores fluctuated to begin the season, but she’s scored 9.825 or higher for three consecutive weeks. Greenfield has also been a solid competitor for the Huskies on beam, and an crucial component of the Northern Illinois team this season .

UIC

Former South African elite Nicole Szabo has helped lead the Flames’ uneven bars lineup this season. Szabo has used her elite experience to help her score 9.750 and higher for the past four meets. Her season high is a 9.800. Watch for her to impress on Saturday! 




Related Coverage:
Illinois at Lindenwood
Illinois vs. Iowa State
TWU Quad Meet
Chicago Style