March 9, 2002

Final Stats

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --The University of Illinois men's gymnastics team tallied a season-best 34.950 on the parallel bars as well as outscoring UIC in all six events to record a 214.700-203.400 victory. The team score was the highest recorded this season by the fourth-ranked Illini. Illinois finishes the regular season with an overall record of 18-2.

Not only did the team totals surpass those of UIC, but the Illinois individuals took six titles as well. In their Huff Hall finale, the seniors showcased some top performances. In the opening event, Sean-Paul Crawford (8.950) and Jonathan Plante (8.800) finished 1-2. Plante took top honors on the pommel horse (9.550), and the duo went 1-2 again as Crawford (9.550) claimed the top spot on the rings followed by Plante (9.100). Fellow senior J.G. Ketchen got in on the action scoring a 9.000 to take the individual title on the parallel bars.

Along with the seniors, other Illini also recorded top marks. Sophomores Bob Rogers and Scott Wetterling had a strong showings. Rogers recorded a career-high 9.600 to win the high bar as well as taking third on pommels (8.900). Wetterling took the individual title on the vault (9.250) as well as finishing second on the parallel bars (8.850).

Head coach Yoshi Hayasaki praised his squad for its outstanding effort saying: "High bar is normally where we score high. We had a few mistakes, but those were our only faults of the day. Its a nice ending for the season, the seniors and dual-competitions. We hope to take this momentum into the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. The guys did very well."

The Illini take next weekend off to prepare for the Big Ten Championships, which will be held at Minnesota March 22-23.