CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 7 Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team split the senior day tri-meet Sunday afternoon in Huff Hall, defeating No. 3 Nebraska and falling to No. 2 Michigan. Illinois took second in the meet with a season-high 405.550 on the afternoon, while Michigan took first with a 413.300 team score, and Nebraska finished third with a score of 401.600. The Illini move to 3-3 (2-3 B1G) on the season.
Junior Hamish Carter took home the lone event title for the Illini on high bar, scoring a season-best 14.400, just .5 points off of his career-best. Carter also placed third in the all-around with a career-high 83.550, and scored a career-best 14.000 on parallel bars.
Sophomore Josh Cook and junior Sebastian Abedi made their season debuts for the Illini, with Cook posting career-best scores of 13.700 on floor and 14.050 on the vault. Sophomore Evan Manivong also posted a career-best 14.300 on floor.
The senior class of 2021 was honored prior to the meet, and all five seniors (Max Diab, Jordan Kovach, Tommy Mistretta, Danny Graham, Joel Diaz) competed on the afternoon for the Illini.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Floor Exercise (70.300, season-high)
- The Illini started the day off solid, posting a season-best score on floor. Sophomore Connor McCool took third in the event with a season-best 14.550, and Evan Manivong followed in fifth place with his career-best 14.300.
Pommel Horse (66.300)
- A solid pommel rotation for the Illini kept them close with Michigan and Nebraska. Hamish Carter placed fourth on pommels with a 13.650, while senior Tommy Mistretta followed in fifth place with a 13.550.
Still Rings (67.250)
- Another solid rotation on rings kept the Illini in second place. Senior Danny Graham took the bronze on the event with a 13.950, while Hamish Carter placed fifth with a 13.550. Freshman Logan Myers followed Carter in sixth place with a 13.450.
Vault (71.250, season-high)
- The Illini exploded on the vault in the meet, posting a season-high score thanks to scores above 14 from all six Illini vaulters and vaulting the team into the lead. Evan Manivong placed second in the event with a 14.650, while Hamish Carter placed eighth on the event with a season-best 14.300.
Parallel Bars (64.150)
- The Illini struggled on parallel bars, but were led by Hamish Carter's career-high 14.000, good enough for third in the event. Senior Jordan Kovach placed sixth with a score of 13.350.
High Bar (66.300, season-high)
- After a low parallel bar score, the Illini were able to rebound on the high bar by posting a season-best 66.300. Hamish Carter took the event title with a 14.400 on the event, and Evan Manivong followed in eighth with a score of 13.300.
EVENT TITLES
High Bar- Hamish Carter (14.400)
UP NEXT
The team will now enter into a Winter Cup team break period. Volunteer Coach Alex Diab and Illini junior Michael Fletcher will be competing at the Winter Cup in Indianapolis this weekend. After the Mar. 14 meet with Nebraska was canceled, the next scheduled team meet is Mar. 22 where the Illini travel to Minnesota for their final regular season matchup with the Golden Gophers.
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