CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's gymnastics team will head to Ann Arbor, Michigan, this weekend for a meet against two opponents. The Fighting Illini will face No. 11 Michigan and No. 2 Stanford on Saturday, March 11 at 1 p.m. CT.

"I think that's a testament to the high level that college teams are competing at," said head coach Justin Spring. "There are six, seven, eight national team members that are currently on NCAA teams right now. National teams see us as viable opponents to compete against."

Illinois is coming off a 409.450 performance at the Puerto Rico Gymnastics Challenge, where the Illini placed first in a competition against Michigan, Arizona State and the Puerto Rican and Spanish national teams

Illinois has already faced both Arizona State and Michigan this year. The Illini met Michigan at the Windy City Invitational, and traveled to Tempe, Arizona, to face Arizona State. Illinois defeated both teams. Results against the Puerto Rico and Spanish national teams will not count towards the Illini win-loss record.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN AND STANFORD

The Fighting Illini have already faced Michigan twice this year, besting them at the Windy City Invitational and Puerto Rico Gymnastics Challenge. This will be the first meeting since last year's NCAA Championships between Illinois and Stanford. As a team, Michigan is ranked No. 7 in the nation on vault (71.167), No. 8 on floor (70.083) and No. 10 on pommel horse (66.367). Stanford ranks in the top four in all six events, and is the top-ranked floor team in the nation (72.183), and the second-ranked team on still rings (71.083) and high bar (71.483).

Individually, Michigan's Anthony McCallum ranks No. 3 on vault (14.917), and teammate Emyre Cole is sixth (14.833). Cole also has the eighth-best floor average in the country (14.683). Stanford has the top gymnast on high bar in the nation in Robert Neff (15.017), while Akash Modi has the second-best national average on floor (14.817), parallel bars (15.100) and is also the No. 2 all-arounder (87.200). The Cardinal's Josiah Eng has the second-best national average on rings (15.083) as well.

QUIANA NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Illinois freshman Sebastian Quiana was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week by the conference office following his performance at the Puerto Rico Gymnastics Challenge this past weekend. Quiana posted the highest score on floor by a freshman so far this year, with a career-best 14.750. The honor is the first Big Ten Freshman of the Week nod for Quiana, and the second weekly conference accolade for an Illini gymnast. Quiana's stellar floor performance would have earned him the event title in Puerto Rico, but Alex Diab posted a season-best 15.000 score to win it. The Illini posted a season-best 71.750 on floor, and the score was key to Illinois taking a commanding lead at the meet and securing a victory. Quiana also made his collegiate debut on parallel bars, scoring a 12.500.

NO. 3 IN THE NATION

Illinois remains in third place in the latest CGA Coaches Poll. The Illini have been No. 3 for eight-straight weeks, and are up two spots from their preseason ranking. Illinois was briefly tied with Ohio State for third place three weeks ago, before the Buckeyes dropped to fourth two weeks ago.

UP NEXT

Illinois will visit 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