No. 5 UCLA gymnastics (9-2, 5-0 Big Ten) will face Illinois (3-5, 1-4) on Sunday in Champaign. The Bruins enter their fifth consecutive week with a top-five designation, after notching a 197.725 against the Wolverines on Feb. 14 – their second-highest total this season. Daily Bruin contributor Hannah Westerhold breaks down the Fighting Illini’s lineup ahead of the competition.

Illinois

Ranking: 46th

Strength: Bars

Weakness: Lineup depth

X-Factor: Chloe Cho

Illinois has only one all-around gymnast in 2026.

But Chloe Cho stands as the No. 6 all-arounder in the nation, the program’s first top-ten all-arounder since 2023.

The sophomore has competed in the all-around in every meet this year. She notched a career-high-tying 39.550 on Feb. 15 against Nebraska – a mark that lifted her four places in the national rankings.

The Santa Clarita, California, local has built on her all-around success as a freshman, during which Cho competed all-around in 14 of 15 meets and concluded the year at No. 30 in the national rankings. She earned four Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards, 16 event titles and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.

But with five routines counting on each event, one all-arounder can only contribute one-fifth of a team’s score.

Even with Cho’s boost, Illinois has not finished a season with a national ranking worse than No. 46 since 2003. At the same Feb. 15 meet where Cho recorded her career-high all-around mark, the Fighting Illini posted a season-low 194.000.

Part of that performance was due to an additional season-low on bars – Illinois’ highest-ranked event at No. 33. The squad counted two 9.650 marks and a 9.050, resulting in a 48.075 that fell well below its 48.881 NQS.

Still, the bars squad has contributed the highest event totals at half of Illinois’ meets this season. On Feb. 1, a 9.925 from Cho and a 9.900 from junior Lyden Saltness led to a season-high 49.150 bars total.

Vault has been Illinois’ most consistent event, with less than three-tenths separating its season-high and -low marks. However, the lineup has not exceeded 48.900 all year – making vault the only apparatus the Fighting Illini have failed to break 49.000 on.

Freshman Summer Clancy notched a 9.900 on vault on Feb. 1 against Maryland, and stands as the only gymnast to break 9.900 on the apparatus. Even with that team-high mark, Clancy owns a team-low 9.463 average. Eight Fighting Illini holds an average lower than 9.820.

Beam is Illinois’ second-highest-ranked event at No. 42, but Cho is the only gymnast to exceed 9.900 this season. Cho boasts the squad’s highest event average of 9.842 – the only average higher than 9.700.

Illinois holds its second-highest event average on floor at 48.746, though the apparatus also ranks as its lowest, sitting at No. 46 nationally. Mirroring beam and bars, Cho holds the squad’s highest floor score with a 9.900, though freshman Piper Gow and sophomore Eden King have both posted marks of 9.850, career- and season-highs, respectively.

Illinois will compete in Columbia, Missouri, on Feb. 20, just two days before it hosts UCLA. While back-to-back competitions could induce fatigue, the Fighting Illini marked their season-high last year, a 196.675, on Feb. 9, 2025, after competing two days prior.

With over 40 places between Illinois and UCLA in the national rankings, Illinois would need a matching season-high trend to secure victory this weekend.