This meet is set to be an exciting, close matchup within the Big Ten. Illinois and Nebraska are both coming off solid Week 2 performances and will want to put up clean meets. Illinois is slightly favored to win here. However, the teams are so close that it’s going to come down to who hits on the night.
Nebraska will be looking at some lineup shuffling, after losing Lucy Stanhope to injury last week. In addition, all-arounder Sophia McClelland is back, and will likely be slotted into some lineups. The Huskers have played with its lineups over the past two weeks, and it won’t be surprising if its lineups continue to fluctuate. Nebraska will also be looking to clean up its bars lineup. If the full lineup hits to the best of its capability, Nebraska will be in a much more comfortable position.
Keep an eye on leg events for Illinois, especially Abby Mueller and Amelia Knight on floor. Ruthuja Nataraj is also one to watch on vault. This meet will likely be decided by tiny margins, and both teams will be looking to perfect the details of each routine in order to win.
Rotation 1: Nebraska VT, Illinois UB
My stream came in late and I missed McClelland’s vault. I hate it here. She got a 9.8
Hall (Neb): Yfull, small hop. 9.75
Wheeler (Ill): Blind, straddle jaeger, overshoot, double lay with a small foot adjustment. 9.75
Davis (Neb): Yfull, a lot of leg form but good landing. 9.75
Denning (Ill): Shaposh, overshoot, last handstand short, double lay with a step back. 9.75
Bacskay (Neb) Y 1.5 with a big step forward.
Knight (Ill): Shaposh, overshoot, double lay with a college stick. 9.925
Comin (Neb): Y1.5 with a hop forward 9.925
Ewald (Ill): Amazing releases but a bit low on handstand. Full in, slight bobble on landing.
Spence (Neb): Y1.5, snaps the heels together, everyone is thrilled.
Takekawa (Ill): Lovely handstands, piked jaeger, good, solid overshoot, lovely toepoint throughout. Double lay with a hop back to finish.
Sikon (Neb, ex): Y full with a really wide and bouncy landing.
Saltness (Ill, ex): Toe tkatchev, nice. Blind full double back is good.
After 1: Nebraska 49.225, Illinois 49.200
Both teams are off to a great start! Nebraska had some great landings on vault and Illinois hit their handstands on bars. The meet is so incredibly close and really exciting!
Rotation 2: Nebraska UB, Illinois VT
Byrne (Ill): Yfull with a step backwards 9.75
Bacskay (Neb): Long wait time for her to get started. It’s her first time in the bars lineup this season, this must be really stressful. Okay, she’s off. Pak, a bit over on the handstand, van leeuwen, double lay with soft knees and flexed feet but a stick. 9.85
Mueller (Ill): Yfull with a bit of a pike down and a hop. 9.7
Nataraj (Ill): Y full with lovely form but a bit off line (but I think she kept it in bounds) and a hop. 9.825
Simpton (Neb): Shaposh, pak, double lay with the same bent knees and foot form as Bacskay and a hop. 9.85
Takekawa (Ill): Y full with some foot form and a small hop. 9.75
Jencks (Neb): Big toe on tkatchev to overshoot. Fights for the last handstand. Double lay with much better form and a small hop. 9.775
Coppola (Ill): Big leg separation on her entry to the table. Yfull with a small hop.
Colombo (Neb): Piked jaegar, so high and clean. Little leg separation on the pak. Double arabian with a couple micro steps. Lovely routine! 9.8
Ward (Ill): Y1.5 with a big step forward. 9.85
Fitzgibbon (Ill, ex): Yfull with a big step back.
Bars adjustments are taking forever for Nebraska.
Commentators have resorted to discussing crowd numbers for other sports during this wait.
Spence (Neb): Shaposh to pak to van Leeuwen. Blind full is a little late, double back with a foot movement. Really strong routine, especially with such a long wait before hand. 9.925
Davis (Neb): Gorgeous toe point, Shaposh, overshoot, nice and clean. Final handstand is flawless. Double lay with a step forward. Not as good as last week but should still be a good score. 9.825
McClelland (Neb, ex): Nice straddle jaeger. Very low on the overshoot. Short on the last handstand. Double lay, goes for the stick but has to step forward.
After 2: Nebraska 98.475, Illinois 98.125
Illinois will be disappointed not to break 49 on vault, while Nebraska was able to put together their season high highest bars rotation. Increasing their lead over Illinois and putting up a clean bars rotation is exactly what the Huskers needed to do, which puts them in a good place at the halfway point of the meet. That being said, the Huskers are heading to beam, where anything can happen, and the meet is still anyone’s game.
I swear BTN+ chooses these highlights by randomly pulling names out of a hat.
Rotation 3: Nebraska BB, Illinois FX
Sikon (Neb): Candle mount, nice. Cartwheel to knee is very smooth. BHS LOSO with a micro check but covers it well. Cat jump, switch half with a little hip check. Full turn is off but she keeps it together. Tucked 1.5 twist with a step forward. 9.675, all the errors really added up.
Takekawa (Ill): Back 1.5 to front lay is good. Front 1.5 to a split jump, solid. Switch haf, straddle leap, nice and high. A little too much arm-waving in the choreography for me but her facial expressions are selling it. 1.5 to a front pike to finish. Nice routine! 9.75
Gard (Neb): Season debut! BHS LOSO with a check. Clean full turn. Beat jump into an aerial into a switch leap into a split jump. Not sure she’ll get the connection between the aerial and the switch leap but still a fun combo. Gainer back pike, stuck. 9.75
Byrne (Ill): 2.5 twist to front pike, really nice. Nice leap series. Double pike, whips it around and a great landing. Short and sweet routine, the team is cheering for a ten. 9.875
Simpton (Neb): BHS BHS LOSO and she’s off. So far this really isn’t the beam rotation Nebraska wanted, and they’ll need to count Sikon’s 9.975. Full turn is good, so is the cartwheel to knee. Split jump, ring jump, tiny wobble. Gainer full with a little foot movement. 9.050
Fitzgibbon (Ill): Front lay, front 1.5, good. A little low on the leaps. Double pike, big lunge but solid. Good routine! 9.85
Hall (Neb): Pressure set for her. Check on the full turn. BHS LOSO, good. Front aerial, nice. Split leap, split ring doesn’t quite hit the full position in the air. Round off 1.5 twist dismount, stuck. 9.9 feels a bit high but Nebraska needed that.
Ward (Ill): Front lay, front full, front pike, fun combo and well executed! Tour jete full to wolf full. Nice high double tuck with a little foot wobble on the lunge. Having a lot of fun with the dance at the end! 9.85
Spence (Neb): Double wolf turn, really nice. Front aerial, doesn’t quite connect into the BHS BHS. Switch leap to beat jump is clean. RO 1.5 with a small hop forward. 9.7
Knight (Ill): Double tuck, very high. Wolf full, tour jete half, a little low. Front 1.5 to straddle jump, bounces back into the lunge. Front 1.5 to front lay, has to work to get it around but does. 9.7
McClelland (Neb): Double wolf turn, very clean. BHS LOSO, rock solid. Straddle jump, beat jump to what I think was a split ring but the front leg was quite bent. BHS tucked 1.5 dismount, supposedly stuck but the stream didn’t show her feet. Aaaand it didn’t show it on the slo-mo either. Oy vey. 9.95, career high for her, and I guess that means the dismount was indeed stuck.
Mueller (Ill): Front tuck to a double tuck, very nice. Nice high energy dance. Front lay to a front full is good. Leaps are a bit all over the place direction-wise but they’re nice and high. She’s happy with it. 9.95!
Homecillo (Neb, ex): BHS BHS LOSO with some bent knees and a small check. Clean full turn. Beat jump, straddle full, clean. RO 1.5 twist dismount with a step back. Made a good case for a lineup spot there!
Morgan (Ill, ex): Double tuck with a bit of a bounce back. Tour jete full, wolf full, lovely toe point. Front layout, front full, that camera was WAY too close. Cartwheel to split jump is a little random but executed well. Good routine for her!
After 3: Nebraska 147.450, Illinois 147.400
Even though the Huskers had some lower scores and a fall, they kept everything together in the back half of the lineup and managed to hold on to a razor thin lead going into the final rotation. Illinois did exactly what they needed to do on floor, highlighted by Mueller’s 9.95.
Rotation 4: Illinois BB, Nebraska FX
Townes (Ill): Switch leap, straddle quarter. Really quick, aggressive quality on beam. Cat leap, aerial, solid. BHS LOSO, perfectly on line. Full turn is good. RO tucked 1.5 with a tiny hop. Great start for Illinois! 9.75
Jencks (Neb): Front lay, front 1.5, nice. Nice form on the leaps. Double tuck, a bit short and has to lunge forward.
Mueller (Ill): Nice full turn. BHS LOSO, rock solid. Switch leap, switch leap, good. Beat jump to a front toss, difficult and clean. RO 1.5 twist, a bit short with a hop back and an arm swing. 9.75
Bacskay (Neb): Back 2.5 twist to a front tuck, really nice. Really high leaps, great rebound into the Popa. Double pike, nearly stuck cold and a controlled lunge back. Great routine! 9.95 career high for her.
Knight (Ill): witch leap, split leap, beat jump, very solid. Aerial to a BHS, clean. Illusion with a small hip check. Good full turn. Gainer full with a small foot movement. 9.825
Rourke (Neb): Front tuck to a big double back. Nice leap series. Double pike, lands a little short and lunges forward.
Ewald (Ill): One armed BHS to BHS. Switch leap, LOSO with a wobble. Full turn good. Split leap to a switch leap to a straddle quarter. Front 1.5 twist dismount with a small foot movement. 9.75
Comin (Neb): Full twisting double back, great! Having a lot of fun with the choreography, so much personality. Back 1.5 to front lay, dances right out. 9.875
Nataraj (Ill): BHS LOSO and she’s off. Switch leap, straddle quarter with a check. Front aerial is solid. RO 1.5 twist with a hop forward. 9.15
McClelland (Neb): Front double twist, lunge out is a little wild. Tour jete to popa to wolf jump. Front 1.5 to back layout step out, really nice. Great routine! 9.875
Takekawa (Ill): If anyone can handle a pressure anchor set, it’s Takekawa. Aerial to BHS, nice and clean. Full turn, a bit off but covers it with no checks. Switch leap into a back LOSO with a small adjustment. BHS gainer full, stuck! 9.9
Spence (Neb): Front tuck to double tuck, great height. Double wolf turn is good. Switch ring is gorgeous, tour jete half good. Double pike, a bit bouncy but otherwise good.
Ward (Ill ex): Solid BHS LOSO. Big check on the switch leap Split jump, big wobble, misses the connection to the straddle quarter and comes off. Gainer full with a small hop back. Rough routine for her.
Kuenemann (Neb ex): Double pike with a lunge forward. Front lay to front full is great. Tour jet half to straddle jump. Front 1.5 to front layout is clean.
FINAL: Nebraska 196.875, Illinois 196.400
What a great meet! Nebraska put up a season high which is exactly what it needs in Week 3 and its home opener. The meet ended up not being quite as close as it was looking with Nebraska going lights-out on floor and Illinois not putting together the cleanest beam rotation. It was great to see McClelland back in Nebraska’s lineups, and while losing Lucy Stanhope certainly hurt, Nebraska proved that it has the depth to put together a complete meet without her. Illinois will want to put all the pieces together on vault and beam next week, but the team still performed extremely well! Overall, a fun, close meet and a great showing for both teams at this point in the season.
VT: Spence (9.95)
UB: Spence (9.925)
BB: McClelland (9.950)
FX: Bacskay, Mueller (9.950)
AA: Spence (39.475)
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Live blog by Naomi Stephenson
