Final Results (PDF)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's gymnastics team fell to Ohio State on Friday night, 417.350-415.250. The Fighting Illini fall to 11-4 while Ohio State improves to 9-3.
"Today was a good day, high energy, we are not leaving happy, obviously," said head coach Justin Spring. "It was a very close match against a very good team. They gave us some opportunities. We had a lead at one point, that I thought we were going to cruise with. We really made a few critical, big mistakes. The overall performance of the team was actually very good. There were just a few craters that got dug in a couple routines that we just couldn't crawl out of, honestly."
Starting the night on floor, Illinois was led by Sebastian Quiana, who posted a career-best 14.950, winning his second title on the year. Alex Diab added a 14.800 to help the Illini to a 70.700 on floor.
The second rotation for Illinois was pommel horse, where the team earned a score of 67.350. The Orange and Blue were led by Michael Paradise's 13.85, and Tom Gibbs had a 13.700 to contribute to the team score.
The Illini moved to rings next, and were paced by Diab's 14.700. Bobby Baker posted a 14.200, and Dennis Minton's 14.200 was a season-best. Illinois scored a 67.350 in the third rotation.
On vault, Chandler Eggleston and Jacob Light each earned a 14.750, sharing the title. Eggleston's 14.750 was a season-best, winning his first vault title of the season, while Light earned his second. Diab added a season-best 14.600, contributing to the 70.850 team score.
The fifth rotation for Illinois was parallel bars, and the team would post a 65.850. Johnny Jacobson led the Illini with a 14.500. Gibbs earned a 13.600, and Eggleston scored a 13.500.
Illinois posted a team score of 70.500 on high bar for the final rotation. Securing his sixth high bar title, Tyson Bull scored a 14.750. Eggleston added a 14.250, and Gibbs' 14.200 was a season-best.
"We can't have these voids," Spring said. "We had about three voids that just killed, they were like three point swings in a routine. We can't do that. We are going to have to go back and strategically adjust some these routines because we can't afford that. It was the loss tonight, and it could very well be the loss in two weeks at the Big Ten Championships. We need to tweak the routines, make sure a hit is not questioned, it's how good are you going to hit, and that should be the only question. That's easier said than done, but we will get it done."
ILLINI TITLES
·     Floor – Sebastian Quiana
·     Vault – Chandler Eggleston & Jacob Light
·     High Bar – Tyson Bull
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.
