Results (PDF)
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Illinois Men's Gymnastics outlasted the Iowa Hawkeyes in a 431.150-430.850 decision in Iowa City, Iowa, today (Jan. 23). Illinois improved to 7-0 on the season with the victory, while Iowa fell to 2-5 in 2016. The Fighting Illini claimed four event titles in the win, including a pair by Chandler Eggleston.
"We had some guys step up today to fill the places of guys that are either still injured or needing a rest from all around and that's incredibly important," shared head coach Justin Spring. "Depth is really becoming the focus of our program. Today allowed us to utilize guys that never chance and they stepped up. That was critical."
Tom Gibbs opened the day on the pommel horse for the Fighting Illini, earning a mark of 12.650. Winning his second title in as many weeks, Brandon Ngai contributed a mark of 15.350. Matt Foster added a 14.800 to claim second place on the event. UI combined for a team score of 68.950.
Down by nearly four points as they headed to floor, the Fighting Illini mounted a comeback and posted five scores at 14.300 or better. Leading the pack was Eggleston who scored a 15.500 for his first title on the event this season. Johnny Jacobson added a reading of 14.800 for fourth place in the standings. Gibbs scored a 14.500 to finish sixth. Illinois finished with a combined mark of 73.450 in the floor action.
Back in the lead heading to vault, the Orange and Blue pushed ahead. Eggleston claimed his second title of the day, winning the vault with a mark of 15.100. Bobby Baker added a 14.950 for second place on the event. Alex Diab turned in a 14.700 for a share of fourth place on the event. Illinois combined for a score of 73.400 on the vault.
The Hawkeyes picked up their first event title of the afternoon on the still rings. Baker led the Fighting Illini with a 15.100 on the event to finish third. Gibbs contributed a mark of 14.900 for a fourth-place nod. Diab and Max Mayr earned scores of 14.800 and 14.400 respectively. UI finished with a team score of 73.150 on rings.
Illinois headed to high bar next, where the Orange and Blue put together a team tally of 69.200. Mayr led the Illini with a score of 14.400 on the event. Tyson Bull was just behind Mayr in fifth place after scoring a 14.250, a person-best high bar score for Bull. Gibbs added a 14.100 for seventh on the event.
Finishing the day on parallel bars, the Illini hung on for the victory, turning in a season-best team score of 73.000. All six Illini that competed on the event posted a season-best mark. Baker led the Orange and Blue claiming a share of the title with a 15.200. Jacobson took home third place with a score of 14.600. Eggleston (14.500) and Foster (14.400) tied for fourth and sixth place respectively. Gibbs and Mayr each added a 14.300.
"Parallel bars is one of those events that in the past we have struggled a little bit," Spring said. "That [final rotation] was a great finish to a meet that we had some big things throughout; to end in a must-hit situation. We hit 6-of-6 routines to just inch out a win."
Gibbs took home a second place finish in the all-around competition on the day. He combined for an 84.800 on the day.
"When we really needed the guys to step up, they stepped up and it's refreshing to see that they were able to handle that," said Spring. "That was really an exciting finish to a dual meet."
LOOKING AHEAD
Next on the slate for the Fighting Illini is a trip to University Park, Pennsylvania, to take on the Nittany Lions. Action is set for Saturday, Jan. 30, at 3 p.m. CT. UI last visited Rec Hall for the 2015 Big Ten Championships.
NOTES
- Brandon Ngai won the second pommel horse title of his career in as many weeks. On the pommel horse, Ngai owns both the best average in the NCAA (15.400) as well as the highest score recorded on the season (15.550).
- Illinois hit 6-of-6 routines on parallel bars, all six marks were season-best scores, and three were career-best marks (Eggleston, Foster, Jacobson).
- Chandler Eggleston won both the floor exercise and vault event titles in a competition for the first time this season and the fourth time in his career.
- Bobby Baker earned the fourth parallel bars title of his career and the second of the season with his mark of 15.200. Baker set or tied his season best mark on each of the three events he competed on (still rings, vault, parallel bars).
- The victory marked the 150th time that Illinois Men's Gymnastics has defeated Iowa in program history.
