|
No. 4 Illinois @ No. 10 Iowa |
| When |
Saturday, Feb. 13 // 6:00 PM CT |
| Where |
Iowa City, IA |
| Follow Live |
BTN+ ($), Live Stats |
Meet Notes
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The fourth-ranked Illini men's gymnastics team sets their eyes on Iowa City on Feb. 13 to take on the tenth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. The meet will take place at 6 PM CT and will be streamed on Big Ten Network+. Live stats will be provided via hawkeyesports.com.
Illinois will compete in their first meet in two weeks, as their Feb. 7 matchup with Michigan in Huff Hall was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Michigan Athletics program. The team's trip to Iowa will be their second straight road meet after traveling to Penn State on Jan. 31.
The Illini are coming off of a narrow defeat at Penn State, dropping the B1G meet 399.300-399.150. Heading into the meet at Iowa, the Illini are ranked fourth nationally and sit in third place in the B1G with a record of 1-1 in conference.
Illini junior Leo Valentin suffered a torn Achilles during practice last week and will miss the remainder of the 2021 season. Valentin competed in two meets this season for the Illini on floor, vault and parallel bars, and posted career-high scores of 13.750, 13.300, and 5.650 on the three events, respectively.
Prior to the season, the University of Iowa announced the discontinuation of their men's gymnastics program after an almost 100-year history. This will be the Illini's final regular season meeting against the Hawkeyes.
LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Illini competed was Jan. 30 at Penn State, where the team suffered a narrow loss to the Nittany Lions 399.300-399.150. Junior Michael Fletcher earned his first event title since the 2018-19 season on pommel horse, and fellow classmate Hamish Carter earned the event title on high bar and all-around. Sophomore Evan Manivong took home his third straight event title on the vault, and graduate student Danny Graham earned his second rings title on the season.
SCOUTING IOWA
The Illini lead the all-time series 166-82-1 over the Hawkeyes. The last time the Illini faced Iowa was Mar. 1, 2020 in Iowa City where the teams tied with a score of 403.050 each. The Hawkeyes are also coming off of a one week break from competition after defeating Minnesota 393.650-387.050 on Jan. 30. Junior Stewart Brown and senior Bennet Huang were named preseason Gymnasts to Watch by the B1G for the Hawkeyes.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
Team: 4
Floor Exercise: 4
Pommel Horse: 4
Still Rings: 2
Vault: 4
Parallel Bars: 4
High Bar: 2
Individual Top 10 National Qualifying Average
Floor Exercise: Connor McCool (13.985, 5th)
Pommel Horse: Ian Skirkey (13.633, 2nd), Tommy Mistretta (13.117, 9th)
Still Rings: Danny Graham (13.883, 1st), Logan Myers (13.350, 7th), Jordan Kovach (13.283, 8th)
Vault: Evan Manivong (14.633, 1st)
Parallel Bars: Jordan Kovach (13.133, 6th), Logan Myers (13.050, 8th)
High Bar: Hamish Carter (13.050, T-5th), Jordan Kovach (13.000, 7th), Evan Manivong (12.883, 8th) Will Hauke (12.783, 10th)
LOOKING AHEAD
The Illini will face Michigan and Nebraska in a tri-meet on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 PM CT. The meet will be streamed live on Big Ten Network+, and live stats will be available via fightingillini.com.
FOLLOW THE ILLINI
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest information on Fighting Illini Men's Gymnastics. Follow the Orange and Blue on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for even more coverage.
