Chambana Sun

The Fighting Illini gymnastics team is set to compete in Seattle for their 21st consecutive regional appearance. The Illinois team will face UC Davis in the regional play-in meet on April 3 at noon Central Time. Should they win, they will advance to compete against Oklahoma, Auburn, and Nebraska on April 4.

Four athletes from the Illini have secured individual qualifications for the regional quad meet, ensuring their participation regardless of the team's outcome in the play-in matchup. Arielle Ward has qualified on vault, Olivia Coppola on beam, Makayla Green on uneven bars following her sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, and Chloe Cho, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, has qualified for the all-around competition.

The selection process for regional competition included the top 36 teams based on national qualifying scores (NQS). From each regional event, the top two teams and the leading all-around competitor not part of an advancing team will earn a spot in the NCAA Championships. Additionally, each event's top specialist not affiliated with an advancing team or all-around competitor will also progress.

Head coach Nadalie Walsh expressed enthusiasm about competing in Seattle: "I'm really looking forward to taking this team to Seattle for Round 1 of NCAA Regionals," she said. "The team is very excited and we have so much to be grateful for. We are healthy, peaking at the right time, and have just enough practices left to refine ourselves before arriving in Seattle. It would be a dream come true for this team to qualify through all three rounds. They have an incredible amount of talent and have gone through the right amount of adversity to make themselves strong. They are unified and on fire; a perfect recipe for the Fighting Illini to show up and show what they're made of."