Michigan at Illinois

Recap

The Big Storyline: Michigan is good on the road. We knew it would be, but we also needed confirmation. Some steps and bobbles we haven’t seen in Crisler kept the total slightly down, but the Wolverines came out strong. Natalie Wojcik followed her beam 10.0 from last week with a 9.975, and Abby Heiskell scored a perfect 9.950 for her stellar Yurchenko full. For the Illini, junior Mallory Mizuki made her competition debut on bars for a 9.900 and the event win.

Implications: Michigan needed a strong away number here, since it has so few away meets and will need this number when it debuts in NQS rankings after its March 5 contest at Michigan State. Illinois will be thrilled to have put up another season best and 196. It will allow the Illini to drop a 195.475 from its NQS once those numbers kick in on March 1. It’ll also put distance between Illinois and Ohio State with Maryland on its heels, as well as put pressure on Iowa going into Big Fives.

Controversies: There was one weird fall on floor from Arayah Simons. She appeared to injure her ankle and immediately pointed to the floor. Illinois staff checked it for a dead spot, but we didn’t really see a resolution on the stream. We also had questions about Mizuki’s start value on bars, as she did a bail to horizontal not connected to anything.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 8 Michigan at No. 20 Illinois

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Michigan put up a massive 197.650 on Monday after its two week hiatus. The Wolverines have only been outscored by Florida, Oklahoma and LSU so far this year. That said, they haven’t competed on the road yet. With NQS rankings in effect as of March 1, this away number is critical. Unless Michigan adds another away meet in the interim, it’ll be the only away number on the docket until March 5, meaning this number has to count for the Wolverines’ NQS debut, and they won’t be ranked as of March 1. With only four away meets on the schedule as it stands now, Michigan can drop two max from its in-season NQS. There is very little room for error on the road. Illinois has been on an up swing, improving its total in each meet so far this year. The Illini will want to put up a third consecutive 196 here, with a goal to do the same on the 26th at Big Fives as well. Two more means they’ll debut in NQS rankings with only 196-plus numbers counting.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Arayah Simons debuted on floor last week for Illinois for a massive 9.950. Don’t miss Mia Takekawa on beam, either; she scored a 10.0 last year, and has a 9.925 under her belt in 2021. Natalie Wojcik is coming off of her own beam 10.0 on Monday, and has looked sharp on all four all year. The all around trio of Wojcik, Sierra Brooks and Gabby Wilson is not to be missed.