Team Results | Event Finals Start List
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's gymnastics team placed second at the Big Ten Championships on Friday night, earning a final team score of 416.400. The second-place finish at the conference championships is the third-straight for the Fighting Illini. Ohio State claimed the Big Ten title with a 418.600.
"It was an amazing competition," said head coach Justin Spring. "There was a lot of energy, a lot of fight. We started really strong. We started on high bar, which is no joke. That's a tough event, a lot of falls there, at least potentially. We cruised right through it. Had a little hiccup on floor. Sat on a bye in really a good position, and just had a really rough pommel horse. We are a very strong horse team, it just got the better of us today."
Illinois began the meet on high bar, posting a 69.250 team score, the best mark of any team. Tyson Bull took the event title with a 14.550, his seventh high bar title of the year. Chandler Eggleston added a 14.450, and Ross Thompson posted a 13.700 in the rotation.
For the second rotation the Illini were on floor, trailing Minnesota by 2.650 points. Alex Diab's 14.950 was the second-best floor score of the day, behind only Sean Melton of Ohio State, who scored a 15.050. Sebastian Quiana earned a 14.650, Eggleston posted a season-best 14.500, and Joey Peters equaled his season-high with a 14.400. Illinois' team score on floor was a 70.850.
Following a bye, the Illini moved to pommel horse for the fourth rotation. Brandon Ngai earned his fourth event title of the year with a 14.550. Matt Foster posted a 14.100, contributing to the Illinois team score of 65.150.
The Illini would tie for the highest team score of the night on rings with a 68.450. The Orange and Blue were led by Diab, who earned a 14.200. Bobby Baker added a 14.000, and Dennis Minton scored a 13.950.
Illinois posted a team score of 71.950 on vault, a season-best for the Orange and Blue, and the highest vault score at the meet. Diab and Jacob Light each finished with a 14.600 to pace the Illini, and three other Illinois gymnasts had scores of 14.150 or above.
On parallel bars for the final rotation, the Orange and Blue were behind Ohio State by 2.800 points. Illinois' 70.750 team score was the best of the evening on parallel bars. Baker led the Illini with a season-best 14.700. Johnny Jacobson added a 14.350, Eggleston posted a 14.100, and Peters equaled his season-high score of 13.800.
"We easily could have given up the meet," Spring said. "But we didn't – we fought like crazy. Honestly I thought we were going to be way out of it, and then the guys kept hitting amazing gymnastics. Moved on, had the best vault lineup we have probably seen all year. We haven't hit parallel bars all year, but when it mattered most, under pressure, the guys crushed our final event, and put us a sad, and heartbreaking two points away from the win."
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The Illini will compete in the Big Ten Event Finals tomorrow, April 8, at 7 p.m. CT at the State Farm Center. Diab took home the still rings title last season.
