Meet Notes

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's gymnastics team will host No. 2 Michigan and No. 8 Penn State for Senior Day on Saturday, March 7, at Huff Hall. The meet is set to begin at 2 p.m. CT. Satchel Hudson, Jacob Light, Michael Paradise, Sebastian Quiana and Zach Treadway will be the five seniors recognized.

Illinois is 6-3-1 on the season, including a 1-1-1 conference record and hold a three-score average of 406.733, ranking sixth in the nation.

The Orange and Blue are nationally ranked in the top-10 in six events. The Illini are No. 3 on floor exercise, No. 6 on pommel horse, No. 2 on still rings, No. 4 on vault, No. 8 on parallel bars, and No. 10 on high bar.

The Fighting Illini will hold a post-meet autograph session at the conclusion of the meet. Free Senior Day posters will be given to the first 200 fans and All-American Kids Club members can redeem a free Kids Club autograph book. A balloon artist will also be in attendance in the free Kids Zone.

Last Time Out

The Fighting Illini traveled to Iowa City, Iowa to take on Iowa last Sunday. Illinois and the Hawkeyes tied with a score of 403.050. The Illini came away with three event titles and saw 10 personal bests set on the day. The Orange and Blue also recorded three season-bests.

Senior Sebastian Quiana and freshman Connor McCool shared the event title on floor with scores of 14.700, which was a season-best and career high, respectively. Sophomore Ian Skirkey picked up an event title on pommel horse with his personal best 14.350, while senior Danny Graham earned the still rings title with a 14.150.

Scouting Michigan

The Wolverines enter the weekend with a 10-0 overall record, including a 2-0 Big Ten record. Michigan is coming off a 408.900-396.300 win over Minnesota last Saturday.

The Wolverines claimed three event titles. Freshman Paul Juda placed first on floor with a 14.500, senior Mack Lasker took first on pommel horse with a 14.000 and junior Jonathan Liu scored a 13.800 on high bar to come away with first.

Michigan is currently ranked fifth on floor, second on pommel horse, fourth on still rings, seventh on vault, second on parallel bars, and first on high bar.

The Illini hold a 129-93-1 advantage over the Wolverines all-time. Illinois and Michigan met last year in a tri-meet with Penn State. Michigan won 409.550-406.900.  

Scouting Penn State

The Nittany Lions enter the tri-meet with a 10-1 overall record, including a 1-1 record in conference play. Penn State lost, 406.950-403.200, to Nebraska last weekend.

The Nittany Lions picked up four event titles against Nebraska. Sophomore Kaleb Booth earned the first-place on floor, while senior Stephen Nedoroscik grabbed first on pommel horse, each posting a score of 14.650 on the events. Senior Isaac Hammett recorded a 14.600 on still rings to sit atop the podium. Fellow senior Sam Zakutney grabbed first with a 14.100 on high bar.

Penn State is currently ranked 10th on floor, first on pommel horse, fifth on still rings, 13th on vault, ninth on parallel bars, and ninth on high bar.

The Nittany Lions hold a 42-59 advantage over the Illini in the all-time series record. The two programs met in a tri-meet last year with Michigan, when Penn State defeated the Orange and Blue, 407.800-406.900.

Carter, McCool Earn Big Ten Weekly Awards

The Fighting Illini swept the first Big Ten weekly honors of the season on Jan. 14. Carter was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, and McCool claimed Big Ten Freshman of the Week. The honors were the first for each gymnasts' career. Carter garnered the honor again on Feb. 4.

Tentative Lineup

Floor Exercise

Zach Ziolkowski

Evan Manivong

Max Diab

Connor McCool

Sebastian Quiana

Pommel Horse

Manivong

Emanuele Muehlhauser

Tommy Mistretta

Ian Skirkey

Michael Paradise

Still Rings

Jordan Kovach

Joel Diaz

Satchel Hudson

Diab

Danny Graham

Vault

Quiana

Ziolkowski

Manivong

Cook

Diab

Parallel Bars

Diaz

Zach Treadway

Graham

Kovach

Quiana

High Bar

Treadway

Manivong

Cook

Kovach

Quiana

Looking Ahead

The Fighting Illini will travel to Puerto Rico to take on Arizona State on Saturday, March 14 at 5 p.m. CT.

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