Chambana Sun

The Illinois women's gymnastics team faced a challenging match against the No. 8 UCLA Bruins, resulting in a 197.200-194.700 defeat at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. This marked their first Big Ten matchup of the season.

Starting on the uneven bars, Chloe Cho achieved a score of 9.850, matching her career high. Makayla Green and Amelia Knight followed with scores of 9.825 and 9.800, respectively.

The team's performance improved on vault, with Olivia Coppola setting a new season high at 9.800 in the lead-off position. Chloe Cho earned a career-high 9.875, while Mareli Muller tied her personal best with a score of 9.800. Head coach Nadalie Walsh commented on their efforts: "As a team, the vaulters really stepped up," noting an improvement in sticking landings.

Heading into the third rotation on floor exercise, Illinois trailed UCLA by 0.575 points. Emmalise Nock led with a season-high score of 9.875, while Arielle Ward entertained the crowd with her routine earning a score of 9.750.

Illinois encountered challenges during their final rotation but saw solid performances from Knight (9.775) and Coppola (9.800). Chloe Cho continued to excel with another career high on beam (9.925), securing the event title for herself: "She's been handling competition like a veteran," said Walsh regarding Cho's performance.

Megan Sapp made her debut as an exhibitionist on beam, scoring 9.775 after transferring from Kentucky.

Chloe Cho finished third in all-around competition with a score of 39.350, narrowly missing her career best set earlier against Nebraska. Mareli Muller came fourth with her second-best score of 37.825.

Reflecting on the competition, Coach Walsh stated: "We had a lot of individual highlights during this competition that I am proud of and excited about... I'm confident that these women are eager to get back to the gym and fix the errors they made."

Looking ahead, Illinois will face Penn State next Friday at University Park.