CHAMPAIGN, Ill - The Illinois men's gymnastics team will kick off their 2021 campaign with a virtual meet against Northern Illinois on Friday. 

The virtual meet will be the first of its kind for the Illini, with judging and scoring done via the Virtius web platform. Each team will compete in their respective practice gyms, with a live stream of events directly to judges. The event will also be available for public viewing at virti.us.

Illinois enters the season ranked No. 4 by Road to Nationals and were ranked No. 5 in the College Gymnastics Association preseason coaches poll. 

The Fighting Illini return 16 letter winners from last season, including 2020 All-Americans Danny Graham (still rings), Connor McCool (floor) and Ian Skirkey (pommel horse).

Scouting NIU

After their NCAA program was discontinued, the NIU program was revitalized in 2020 and became a GymACT team. In their first season, the team competed in the 2020 Windy City Invitational and against Michigan, Ohio State, UIC, and Arizona State. Historically, the Illini are 25-11 against the Huskies during the time the school officially sponsored the sport.

Tentative Lineup

Floor 

Max Diab, Dylan Kolak, Michael Fletcher (AA), Léo Valentin, Evan Manivong, Connor McCool, Jordan Kovach (AA1)

Rings

Logan Myers, Joel Diaz, Michael Fletcher (AA), Hamish Carter, Jordan Kovach (AA), Danny Graham

Parallel Bars

Tommy Mistretta, Joel Diaz, Dylan Kolak, Jordan Kovach (AA), Danny Graham, Michael Fletcher (AA)

Pommel Horse

Emanuele Muehlhauser, Hamish Carter, Tommy Mistretta, Tyler Schmidt, Ian Skirkey, Jordan Kovach (AA), Michael Fletcher (AA1)

Vault

Dylan Kolak, Logan Myers, Michael Fletcher (AA), Max Diab, Connor McCool, Evan Manivong, Jordan Kovach (AA1)

High Bar

Léo Valentin, Logan Myers, Evan Manivong, Michael Fletcher (AA), Hamish Carter, Jordan Kovach (AA)

Looking Ahead

The Fighting Illini begin their Big Ten schedule at home next week vs Ohio State on Jan. 23 at 1 PM CT. Broadcast information is TBA. At this time, no fans will be permitted at home matches in accordance with State of Illinois COVID -19 restrictions.

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