2021 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team is set to travel to Minneapolis, Minn. this weekend for the 2021 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships.

Illinois is entering the NCAA Championships as the eighth overall seed and will compete in qualifying session I on Friday, April 16. Meet time is scheduled for 1 PM CT, and both qualifying sessions will be broadcasted for free on BTN+. If the Illini advance, they will compete in the championship session on Saturday, April 17 at 7 PM CT on Big Ten Network.

The Illini are going for their 11th national championship in school history, having last won the NCAA Championships in 2012 when Justin Spring became the youngest head coach to be awarded National Coach of the Year at age 28. Illinois ranks third all time in team titles with 10 behind Penn State and Oklahoma with 12. Illinois has produced the most individual event champions in NCAA history with 62 individual champions. The last Illini to earn a national championship was Alex Diab in 2019 on Still Rings.

LAST TIME OUT

At the Big Ten Championships, the Illini placed fourth overall with a 396.900 score, finishing behind Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan, who are seeded seven, four, and two at the NCAA Championships, respectively. Michael Fletcher took home the B1G Championship on the vault and earned first-team All-B1G honors in the process, while Ian Skirkey and Connor McCool both garnered second-team All-B1G selections for earning silver on pommel horse and floor, respectively.

ORANGE AND BLUE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Team: 8^th (398.438)

Floor Exercise: 5^th (69.025)

Pommel Horse: 6^th (65.863)

Still Rings: 4^th (66.575)

Vault: 7^th (70.650)

Parallel Bars: 13^th (63.438)

High Bar: 9^th (64.075)

ILLINI TOP-TEN NATIONAL RANKINGS

All-Around: Michael Fletcher (77.750, 8^th)

Floor Exercise: Connor McCool (14.375, 4^th)

Still Rings: Danny Graham (13.725, 7^th)

Vault: Evan Manivong (14.613, 4^th)

CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT

12 teams will compete in two separate qualifying sessions on Friday, April 16. In each session, the top-three scoring teams move on to the championship session on Saturday, April 17 at 7 PM CT on Big Ten Network. In addition, the top-ten placing gymnasts from each event whose team did not advance to the team finals will compete for individual event championships in the final session. Listed below is the full team list for qualifying sessions I and II.

• Session I: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 Illinois, No. 9 Navy, No. 12 William & Mary
• Session II: No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Iowa, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 11 Cal

SCOUTING THE FIELD

Qualifying session I consists of No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 Illinois, No. 9 Navy, and No. 12 William & Mary. Oklahoma has won four national championships in the past decade, and has finished runner-up in the other six years, to go along with nine total NCAA Championships the past two decades. Nebraska finished second at this year's B1G Championships, but the Huskers have yet to record a national championship or runner-up finish in the 2000s. Ohio State recorded a runner-up finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships, and most recently won the national title in 2001. Navy has yet to record a national championship, and has only finished runner-up once in their history.

SESSION I ROTATION ORDER

Rotation 1: Still Rings

Rotation 2: Vault

Rotation 3: Parallel Bars

Rotation 4: High Bar

Rotation 5: Floor Exercise

Rotation 6: Pommel Horse