Four Rotations: Gymnastics vs. Illinois

Saturday, January 21

Piscataway, N.J.

1:00 PM

Rutgers University

No. 23 Illinois

Jan 20 | Women's Gymnastics

Watch on B1G+Live Results Follow @RUGymnastics on Twitter Rutgers Meet Notes Illinois Meet Notes 2023 Record Book

The four things to know before the Scarlet Knights host the Fighting Illini on Sat., Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. at Jersey Mike's Arena

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – One week after posting its program record for a home opener team score at 195.550, Rutgers returns to Jersey Mike's Arena to host No. 23 Illinois in a Big Ten dual meet at 1 p.m. on Sat., Jan. 21.

In the Arena: Superheroes & Princesses / Dress as your favorites. Glitter tattoos and face painting. Special Olympics New Jersey Day pre-meet exhibition.
Watch: B1G+ (Dom Savino on play-by-play and Chrystal Chollet-Norton, Rutgers' longest tenured head gymnastics coach from 1986-2011, on color commentary and rules analysis)
Follow: Live Results | @RUGymnastics

The Four Things to Know...

HOME SWEET HOME

Rutgers gymnastics set a program record for a home opener team score on Saturday with a 195.550, placing second while hosting a quad at Jersey Mike's Arena behind four event wins and the top team score on beam (48.925). Hannah Joyner took the all-around with a season-best 39.175, while Emily Leese claimed floor with a 9.875 and Gianna Ortiz and Elia Aird shared the beam title with a 9.850.

Rutgers' program record home opening score of 195.550 surpassed the previous record from Jan. 24, 2015 (195.375). It was the seventh highest home score in program history and tied for the 15th best team score overall at Rutgers.

HOT START

Rutgers gymnastics began the 2023 season with a 194.700 team score at the Super 16 Collegiate Challenge in Las Vegas, setting a program record for a season-opening road score and recording its best overall season-opening score since the 2014 season. The Scarlet Knights placed second on floor with a 49.150, beating out No. 14 Oregon State and No. 20 Georgia in the event.

Emily Leese recorded two of RU's four Top 3 finishes, tying for second on vault with a 9.875 and tying for third on floor with a career-high 9.900. Stephanie Zannella tied for second on beam with a 9.850, and Elia Aird tied for third on floor with a 9.900 while competing in the all-around for the first time.

WATCH OUT

Senior Hannah Joyner has been named a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch for the 2023 season. Joyner is already one of the most decorated gymnasts in Rutgers history and prepares for her senior season "On the Banks." The first Rutgers gymnast to advance to NCAA Nationals on the balance beam, Joyner is seeking her third consecutive trip to NCAA Regionals this winter. She is the school record holder on beam with a 9.950, as well as the school's standard bearer for most 9.9 or higher scores with 27 in her collegiate career. She is also the first Rutgers gymnast to record a 9.9 in all four events. The three-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree is just as consistent in the classroom with two Scholastic All-America honors and two Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Awards.

NATIONAL ATTENTION

Rutgers gymnastics began the 2023 season receiving votes in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll. The Scarlet Knights are receiving 50 points in the Top 36 poll, coming in 44th place heading into the new campaign. Rutgers rose to No. 24 in the nation in February during the 2022 season, marking its first national ranking since 2014 – an NCAA Regionals season for the Scarlet Knights. The national attention stems from a mix of strong returning talent and the hype around the 2023 freshmen class. The Scarlet Knights return 18 letterwinners from last year's team, including NCAA Regional qualifiers Hannah Joyner and Emily Leese. Many of those 18 contributed to the program-record team score of 196.400 set in March, and the highest Big Ten Championships score in program history (195.750).

Follow Rutgers gymnastics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for Apple or Android today.