Event Finals Results | All-Big Ten Awards
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's gymnastics team took home 2017 Big Ten event titles on pommel horse, still rings and parallel bars on Saturday night. Brandon Ngai claimed the 2017 Big Ten event title on pommel horse with a 14.825, his second-best score of the year. The 2017 Big Ten parallel bars event title went to Johnny Jacobson, who posted a 14.550. Alex Diab won his second-straight Big Ten still rings event title, turning in a 14.875.
"The team stepped up today," said head coach Justin Spring. "It was really hard coming off of a second-place finish last night, a very close second-place finish. They really put a target on Friday night's Big Ten Championship Team Finals, and underachieved by a very small amount, and that is going to sting for a while. I think they came in with goals to just annihilate everyone else today. They really wanted to sweep, I think they knew they could do it. We were really close to getting five today, but we ended up walking out with three, which is half of the available Big Ten titles today, which is pretty awesome. I'm pretty proud of them. They performed well, I think it was a high note to finish the championship weekend, and we have got some big gymnastics to do at NCAAs in a couple of weeks."
On pommel horse, Ngai was once again the top gymnast, after turning in the best score on Friday during the team finals. Teammate Matt Foster and Minnesota's Justin Karstardt tied for second place at 14.600 each. Foster's performance on pommel horse earned him a Second-Team All-Big Ten nod.
"I think we did better than expected, better than we could have hoped," said Ngai. "I saw Matt do one of the best routines he had done all year. I was so excited for him. I knew at that point he had medaled, and I just wanted to go out there and do my best. Either way I would have been excited about the result."
Diab was the penultimate gymnast on rings, and tied for the fourth-best score during Friday's team finals. Sean Melton of Ohio State posted a 14.600 on Friday, and earned the same score on Saturday night to finish in second place. Bobby Baker's score of 14.425 was good for third place, and a Second-Team All-Big Ten honor. Finishing in eighth place was Dennis Minton, after turning in a 13.750.
"I was really happy with today," said Diab. "We were a little disappointed with how we ended up yesterday. I just wanted to go back out there and represent the Illini and hopefully get a couple of wins. Tonight was awesome. A bunch of guys had great sets. I'm super proud of Brandon and Johnny for getting Big Ten titles, that's amazing. I think today, the energy was great, and the guys had fun out there. It was a great meet today."
The very last competitor on parallel bars, Jacobson took the lead from Alec Yoder and Jake Dastrup of Ohio State, who finished in a tie for second with 14.300 each. The top parallel bars gymnast from Friday, Karstardt, finished in seventh place, scoring a 13.550.
"I don't have any words for it," said Jacobson. "It's something that I have wanted for a long time now, and it has finally happened. It's great. I love it. I felt like I did a good set, but going into it, after sitting down for so long, I was a little nervous. I didn't know what to expect or how my body would react after resting for so long. You just get into the swing of things. Muscle memory kicks in, and it just happens."
Diab narrowly missed out on the Big Ten floor event title with a 14.500, finishing in second place. Minnesota's Alex Wittenberg took the title after posting a 14.550, and Wyatt Tyndall of Penn State earned a third-place finish with a score of 14.425. Chandler Eggleston placed fourth after turning in a 14.350, and Sebastian Quiana's 14.200 was good for fifth place.
On vault, Diab finished in a tie for sixth after scoring a 14.275. Jacob Light's 13.175 was good for a 10th-place finish. Nebraska's Anton Stephenson claimed the event title after earning a 14.975 score. Seth Delbridge of Ohio State placed second with a 14.925 reading, and Minnesota's Yaroslav Pochinka took third place after scoring a 14.750.
Tyson Bull garnered Second-Team All-Big Ten honors after his performance on high bar, posting a 14.275 for third place. Jake Martin of Ohio State earned the event title with a score of 14.375, and Iowa's Cory Paterson finished in second place after turning in a 14.350. Eggelston, the final competitor of the night, placed fourth with a score of 14.175.
B1G EVENT TITLE WINNERS
NOTES
- The Illini claimed at least three Big Ten event titles for the fifth time in the last nine years.
- Illinois won back-to-back Big Ten still rings titles for the first time since 1988-1989, and Alex Diab became the first Illini ever to accomplish the feat by himself.
- The Illini have now earned at least one Big Ten event title for 15 consecutive years.
- Matt Foster earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors for the third-straight season after his second-place finish on pommel horse.
UP NEXT
The NCAA Championships in West Point, N.Y., are all that await Illinois following the Big Ten Championships. The NCAA Championships are set for April 21-22.
