Chambana Sun

Mia Takekawa, Lyden Saltness, and Arielle Ward from the Illinois women's gymnastics team have been recognized with All-Big Ten honors. The announcement was made by the conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Takekawa has achieved first-team honors for the fourth time in her career. Meanwhile, Saltness and Ward received second-team honors for the first time. This marks the first instance since 2021 that more than two members of the Fighting Illini squad have earned All-Big Ten recognition. In 2021, Nicole Biondi, Shaylah Scott, Takekawa, and Mia Townes were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team.

Mia Takekawa has consistently contributed to Illinois' performance on uneven bars with scores including one 9.95, two 9.925s, and four 9.90s. On beam, she has achieved scores of one 9.95, one 9.925, and five 9.90s.

Lyden Saltness serves as a recent anchor for Illinois on uneven bars as a freshman. She scored a near-perfect 9.975 at the Big Five meet and has recorded three scores over 9.90.

Arielle Ward has shown solid performance on vault for Illinois with a career-high score of 9.925 on March 8 at the Alabama Quad meet. New to floor this season, she earned three scores of 9.875 and won the floor event against Bowling Green on March 3.

Illinois is set to begin postseason action at the Big Ten Championships scheduled for March 23 at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan.