Chambana Sun

Illinois women's gymnastics team is set to compete in the Western Michigan Quad Meet on March 8 at 3 p.m. CT in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Fighting Illini will face Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and Wilberforce (Ohio) in this competition.

Western Michigan enters the meet with a record of 9-6 overall and 3-2 in conference play. They are on a six-meet winning streak and recently recorded the highest team score in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) this season with a 196.500 against Eastern Michigan and Wilberforce. "For the first time this season, the Broncos scored above 49.000 in every event," noted their recent performance highlights.

Central Michigan comes into the competition with a record of 10-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Despite losing narrowly to Illinois State recently, they achieved five podium finishes including event wins from Lia Kmieciak and Luciana Alvarado-Reid.

The Fighting Illini's last outing was at the B1G Four Meet where they finished with a score of 195.275. Chloe Cho stood out by capturing the vault title with a score of 9.900.

Chloe Cho has been recognized multiple times as she is now "a four-time winner of the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award," setting a program record for most wins in a single season. Head Coach Nadalie Walsh was honored as "the inaugural Game Changer for Women in Sports Leadership Award" recipient for her impact on women's sports through mentorship and advocacy.

Freshmen Chloe Cho and junior Arielle Ward were named to Big Ten's Gymnasts to Watch during preseason due to their outstanding performances last year.

Amelia Knight returns for another year after initially believing her tenure had ended, bringing experience from previous seasons where she helped set records and earned academic honors.

Head Coach Nadalie Walsh has an overall Division I career record of 159-194-1 over her coaching career spanning more than two decades, including eight seasons at Illinois with notable achievements within the Big Ten Conference.