Illini Roundup: Women’s Cross Country Wins NCAA Regional

The Fighting Illini women's cross country team won the NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, OK on Friday, advancing to the NCAA Championshps next weekend in Terre Haute, IN.

Four Illinois runners earned Midwest All-Region honors, led by junior Allison McGrath, who finished 12th overall with a 6k time of 20:45. Joining McGrath were junior Rebecca Craddock (14th-21:04), sophomore Madison Marasco (18th-21:12), and sophomore Emma Milburn (25th-21:20). 

Illinois entered the Midwest Regional ranked No. 22 nationally by USTFCCCA, and No. 1 in the Midwest Region. 

Head coach Sarah Haveman said she was proud of her team for thriving as a favorite, rathern than as an underdog, which had been the case for the last several years.

"Today we had to prove that we are more than that, and that we could come into a meet ranked first and hold our ground," Haveman said. "They commanded the field, leading at every split and at the finish. Most importantly, they ran for each other every step of the way."

Volleyball Sweeps Rutgers

The 25th-ranked Illini volleyball team bounced back from a loss to Penn State by dominating Rutgers Saturday night at Huff Hall in straight sets (25-11, 25-15, 25-20).

The Illini moved back to .500 in Big Ten conference play (13-12 overall, 8-8 conference) ahead of a road trip to Maryland and Ohio State next week.

Senior Jacqueline Quade and junior Megan Cooney led Illinois with 14 kills each. Senior Ashlyn Fleming reached a milestone by notching kill number 1,000 during the match.

Redbirds Pull Away From Illini Women

The Illinois State Redbirds used a 12-0 run across the second and third quarters to pull away from Illinois in a 74-58 win at State Farm Center in Champaign.

Redshirt junior Petra Holešínská had 16 points to lead the Illini (3-1), who will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday.