Final Results
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team defeated No. 8 Michigan, 405.200-394.900, on Saturday night at Huff Hall. The third-ranked Illini improve to 7-1 on the season, while UM falls to 1-2.
"We definitely had a slow start tonight," head coach Justin Spring said. "Our big focus after Minnesota was being able to finish strong under pressure and we definitely did that. Overall, tonight was as expected for the first five up, five count competition of the season and I think we are going to grow and get better from here."
The Orange and Blue were on floor exercise first and senior Bobby Baker came away with the top score in the event for the Illini, posting a 13.750. Michigan's Emyre Cole won the event, giving the Wolverines their lone event title of the night.
In the second rotation, the Illini were on pommel horse and senior Brandon Ngai came away with a season-best 15.300 to earn his 20th career title on the event. Sophomore Michael Paradise and senior Tyson Bull posted the next best scores for UI, finishing with scores of 13.250 and 13.000, respectively.
Junior Alex Diab continued his strong season on still rings in the third rotation of the night, posting a 14.150 to claim his 16th career title on the event. Baker finished third on rings with a 14.050 total.
Vault was up next for the Illini and Baker posted a season-high 15.000 to win the event. The score also marks Illinois school record (under the current scoring format). Freshman Max Diab continued his strong start to his career on vault, posting a 14.300, while junior Johnny Jacobson came away with a 14.250.
Sophomore Sebastian Quiana recorded career highs on both of the final two events of the night, posting a parallel bars score of 14.450 and a high bar total of 13.600. Baker finished with the top high bar total (14.340) of the meet en route to a first-place finish in all-around competition (82.700).
Redshirt senior Chandler Eggleston saw his first action of the season on Saturday. The Jamestown, North Carolina, native finished third on parallel bars (13.700) and fourth on high bar (13.850).
Title Winners
Pommel Horse - Brandon Ngai (15.300) (20th career PH title)
Still Rings - Alex Diab (14.150) (16th career Still Rings title)
Vault - Bobby Baker (15.000)
Parallel Bars - Sebastian Quiana (14.450)
High Bar - Bobby Baker (14.350)
All-Around - Bobby Baker (82.700)
Up Next
The Orange and Blue will travel to compete in the Stanford Invite, held in Stanford, California. Competition will begin at 6 p.m. CT on March 3.
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