MINNEAPOLIS, MN. – The Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team defeated Minnesota 393.800-392.800 Monday evening in Maturi Pavilion. The Illini move to 4-3 (3-3 B1G) to wrap up the regular season.

Junior Michael Fletcher earned the rings and all-around title on the evening, scoring a career-best 14.000 on rings and a 79.000 in the all-around. Sophomore Connor McCool grabbed the floor title with a 14.400, Tommy Mistretta earned a pommel horse title with a career-best tying 13.700, and Evan Manivong won the vault title with a career-best tying 14.750.

The Illini led throughout the meet, opening up a 10-point lead after three rotations. Minnesota crawled back and brought the lead to just one point heading into the final rotation. On parallel bars, Joel Diaz earned a career-high 13.600, and Tommy Mistretta earned a season-best 13.200 to pull out the B1G victory for the Illini

HOW IT HAPPENED

Rotation 1- Pommel Horse

• The Illini swung a 62.200 on the horse, and the Gophers flipped a 66.500 on the floor to give Minnesota the early advantage. On the horse, Tommy Mistretta earned his second career event title with a career-best tying 13.700 on the event, and Tyler Schmidt earned a solid 13.000 to take the bronze. Emanuele Muehlhauser and Jordan Kovach tied for fourth place with a 12.450.

Rotation 2- Floor Exercise

• On the floor, the Illini put up a 68.400, and the Gophers swung a low 58.400 to pad the Illini's lead through two rotations. Floor anchor Connor McCool earned his fourth career event title on the floor with a 14.400. Sophomore Josh Cook earned a new career-best 14.300 to take the silver, and Michael Fletcher earned a 13.950 to take the bronze.

Rotation 3- Vault

• The vault squad was hot yet again, with the Illini putting up a 70.450 on the apparatus while the Gophers recorded a 65.950 on still rings to put the Illini up 10 points after three rotations. Evan Manivong earned his fourth vault title on the season with a career-best tying 14.750, while Max Diab followed in fourth with a season-best 14.350 and Logan Myers in fifth with a 14.150.

Rotation 4- Still Rings

• Illinois' rings team scored a 65.950 on the evening, while Minnesota vaulted a 70.200 to trim the Illini lead slightly. Michael Fletcher earned his first career rings title with a career-best 14.000 on the apparatus, while Logan Myers followed in second with a career-best tying 13.700.

Rotation 5- High Bar

• The Illini recorded a 62.100 on the high bar, while Minnesota earned a 66.400 on parallel bars to bring the Illini's lead down to one. Michael Fletcher earned a 13.050 to place fourth on the event to lead the Illini on the high bar.

Rotation 6- Parallel Bars

• The team title came down to parallel bars, where the Illini required multiple hit routines in order to pull out the victory. The Illini did just that, with Joel Diaz sticking a career-best 13.600 on the parallel bars to place third in the event, and Tommy Mistretta earned a season-best 13.200 to place fourth and lead the Illini to victory in the Twin Cities.

EVENT TITLES

Floor Exercise- Connor McCool (14.400, fourth career title)

Pommel Horse- Tommy Mistretta (13.700, second career title)

Still Rings- Michael Fletcher (14.000, first career title)

Vault- Evan Manivong (14.750, fourth career title)

All-Around- Michael Fletcher (79.000, second career title)

UP NEXT

The Illini now prepare for the Big Ten Championships scheduled for April 3^rd and 4^th, hosted by the University of Nebraska.

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