CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The third-ranked Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team welcomes both No. 11 Air Force and UIC to Huff Hall on Friday, March 9. The meet marks Military Appreciation Night, as current and former members of the military are encouraged to come out and be recognized for their sacrifices and accomplishments. Meet competition is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT.
Scouting the Opponents
Air Force
Air Force enters the weekend with a record of 6-6 on the season and currently sits ranked 11th in the most recent CGA Coaches Poll. The Falcons have picked up wins over the 5280 Gymnastics Club in Denver, Washington, Army (2x), Navy and Springfield College. The team's losses this season came against Nebraska (2x), Ohio State (2x) , Arizona State and Minnesota.
Air Force carries a 3-score average of 400.467 and holds the following rankings on each event: Floor (11th), Pommel Horse (6th), Still Rings (6th), Vault (9th), Parallel Bars (14th), High Bar (10th). The Illini are 15-1 all time against the Falcons.
UIC
With a 3-score average of 369.033, the Flames are currently ranked 18th in the CGA Coaches Poll. UIC also holds a record of 1-8 on the season, earning its lone victory over Temple and having come up short against top teams such as Stanford, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa.
The Illini faced off against UIC back in January at the annual Windy City Invitational. The Orange and Blue won the event with a 404.300 total, while the Flames finished fourth with a score of 356.800. The Illini hold an all-time record of 75-16 against UIC.
Career Titles Count
Out of the 23 Illini on the roster, 10 have claimed event titles in their careers. Bobby Baker currently sits with 29 total titles, while Chandler Eggleston has 21. Alex Diab enters the weekend with 26 career titles won and Brandon Ngai has 21, all on pommel horse.
Tyson Bull and Johnny Jacobson have 12 and nine career titles, respectively, and Sebastian Quiana has four titles. Max Diab and Jacob Light each earned their first event title of their career this season and Dennis Minton claimed one event title on still rings in 2016.
Last Time Out
The Fighting Illini placed fourth (404.250) at the International Collegiate Challenge, hosted by Stanford University. No. 2 Stanford won the event (410.700), followed by No. 8 Michigan (410.350) and Japan (409.950). No. 12 California and Canada rounded out the field, finishing with scores of 384.650 and 353.450, respectively.
Senior Brandon Ngai and junior Alex Diab came away with event titles at the event, as Ngai posted a 14.500 on pommel horse to earn his 21st career title on the event and Diab picked up the 16th still rings title of his career with a 14.350.
Baker Earns B1G Weekly Honor
Following an impressive performance in the win over Michigan, Bobby Baker was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week. The senior posted season-high scores on both vault (15.00) and high bar (14.350) to earn titles and also finished with the top Illini floor total (13.750) to secure a third-place finish in the event behind Michigan's Emyre Cole and Jacob Moore.
The vault score of 15.000 marks a new school record (under the current scoring system) and is the third highest total in the nation this season. Baker also posted a season-high 12.250 on pommel horse to place ninth in the event. The honor marks the second for the Lemont, Illinois, native, this season and the fifth of his career.
Up Next
Following this weekend's meet at Huff, the Orange and Blue will play host to three-time defending National Champion Oklahoma. The meet is set for Saturday, March 17, and will begin at 11 a.m. CT.
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