CHICAGO – The No. 2 ranked Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team competed in the second session of the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Championships on Friday and came away with a team total of 408.824 to qualify for Saturday's final round. UI will take on Oklahoma, Stanford, Minnesota, Nebraska and Penn State at 6 p.m. CT.
"Tonight was sloppy but we got it done," head coach Justin Spring said. "We worked through some nerves and now we can charge forward tomorrow and attack! We left a lot of points on the floor tonight. We can walk away with a championship title in front an amazing crowd tomorrow if we hit and do our job! We're all very excited about the opportunity tomorrow."
The Illini got things started on parallel bars and senior Bobby Baker and sophomore Sebastian Quiana led the way, each posting scores of 13.900. Redshirt senior Chandler Eggleston added a 13.633, while senior Tyson Bull and junior Johnny Jacobson finished with scores of 13.266 and 12.700, respectively.
Bull was his normal self on high bar, as the Australia native posted a meet-best 14.400 to come away with the event title. With the title, Bull moves into 10th all time in school history with 15 career titles on the event. Baker and junior Ross Thompson also contributed high scores for the Illini, as both gymnasts finished with scores of 13.933 to tie for fifth on the event. Eggleston added a 13.866 to tie for seventh.
Quiana and Diab secured the top scores for Illinois on floor. Quiana posted a 14.133, while Diab scored a 14.066. Jacobson also added a 13.933 to hold the Illini in second place after three rotations.
After a slow start on pommel horse, UI finished the rotation strong as sophomore Michael Paradise posted a 14.000 and senior Brandon Ngai came away with the top total on the event, finishing with a 14.666. The pommel horse title for Ngai is the 24th of his career.
Illinois posted the top team rings total on the night, finishing with a 68.632. Three-time Big Ten Still Rings Champion, Alex Diab paced the team, posting a 14.533, while Baker and senior Dennis Minton came away with scores of 13.833 and 13.800, respectively.
Finishing the night on vault, the Illini got a strong performace from freshman Max Diab, who posted a 14.533 and placed third on the event. Baker had the top Illini vault run of the night (14.566) to place second, while Eggleston capped off the night with a 14.300.
Event Titles
Pommel Horse – Brandon Ngai (14.666) (24th career title on the event)
High Bar – Tyson Bull (14.400) (15th career title on the event)
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