CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's gymnastics team will face No. 10 Iowa in Huff Hall on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. The Hawkeyes will put their 3-6 record against the 8-0 mark of the Fighting Illini.
Illinois returns to Huff Hall after a three-week break from dual meet competition. During the break, the Illini sent Alex Diab, Johnny Jacobson, Brandon Ngai and Joey Peters to the 2017 Winter Cup Challenge. Diab, Jacobson and Ngai all advanced to the finals of the Winter Cup.
The Winter Cup marks a change in competition, from a six up, five count to a five up, five count format. The format drops one competitor from each school on each apparatus, moving from having six competitors per school in each event, with the top five scores counting, to having only five competitors per school in each event.
"We are going to see some new faces breaking into the lineup," said head coach Justin Spring. "Some of these guys have been working all year to get into the lineup. It's a lot of hard work and effort that has come to fruition."
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
Iowa has the 10th-highest team score average in the nation. The Hawkeyes are also tied for fourth on vault (71.700), sixth on high bar (67.717) and seventh on parallel bars (68.238).
Individually, Iowa has two of the top 10 all-arounders in the conference in Andrew Botto (No. 8, 78.258 average) and Dylan Ellsworth (No. 10, 76.133). The Hawkeyes also have three of the top ten conference gymnasts on vault in Dylan Ellsworth (No. 7, 14.400), Botto (No. 8, 14.292) and Mark Springett (No. 10, 14.238). Two of the best athletes in the Big Ten on high bar are also Hawkeyes, with Austin Hodges (13.700) and Cory Paterson (13.550) ranking eigth and 10th, respectively.
GYM JAM AND HAIL TO THE ORANGE NIGHT
Fans who attend Saturday's meet against Iowa will receive orange pom poms, Fighting Illini sunglasses, Hail to the Orange drawstring bags, and the first 300 fans will receive a Hail to the Orange T-shirt.
ILLINI AT 2017 WINTER CUP CHALLENGE
Four members of the Illinois men's gymnastics team competed in Las Vegas at the 2017 Winter Cup Challenge. Diab, Jacobson, Ngai and Peters all made the trek to the desert, with Diab, Jacobson and Ngai advancing to the finals. On the last day of competition, Jacobson finished 17th in the all-around, and Ngai placed second on pommel horse.
Jacobson finished third in the all-around in the first preliminary session, and Ngai had the best pommel horse score with a season-best 14.850. In the second session, Alex Diab and Joey Peters represented Illinois. Diab competed on floor, rings, vault and high bar, and Peters competed in the all-around.
NO. 3 IN THE NATION
Illinois remains in third place in the latest CGA Coaches Poll. The Illini have been No. 3 for the six-straight weeks, and are up two spots from their preseason ranking. Illinois was briefly tied with Ohio State last week for third place, before the Buckeyes dropped to fourth this week.
UP NEXT
After the home meet with Iowa, the Illini will hit the road for three weeks. Illinois will compete in the Puerto Rico Invitational on March 4, followed by road trips to Michigan on March 11 and two-time reigning national champion Oklahoma on March 18. The next home meet for the Illini is March 24 against Ohio State.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP AT STATE FARM CENTER
The 2017 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships will be hosted by Illinois and held at the State Farm Center on April 7 & 8. The Big Ten Championships were last held at Illinois in 2011, which saw the Illini take home the Big Ten title. Tickets are on sale now at fightingillini.com
