CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team will face their toughest task yet in the 2022 season, facing off against the second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, Feb. 12 in Huff Hall. Meet time is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted live on B1G+.
HUFF HALL COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases on the University of Illinois campus and throughout the Central Illinois region, the University will institute a proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative-test protocol for all university sponsored events open to the public with more than 200 people in attendance beginning January 1, 2022. All guests ages 12 and older entering Huff Hall will be required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination OR a negative COVID-19 PCR or rapid test taken within 72 hours of the event to enter the facility.
The state of Illinois and University of Illinois remains under a mask mandate. Face coverings must be worn by all fans over the age of 5 years.
LAST TIME OUT
The Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team grabbed five event titles and scored season-highs on four events to down the Ohio State Buckeyes 400.750-394.500 Saturday afternoon at Huff Hall.
Five Illini secured individual event titles, including Ashton Anaya (Rings), Hamish Carter (HB), Dylan Kolak (Vault), David Pochinka (PB) and Ian Skirkey (PH), leading to a season-best team score on floor, pommel horse, rings, and parallel bars.
Trailing by just 0.1 after floor, the Illini grabbed the lead on pommel horse thanks to a season-best 66.000 team score, and never gave up the lead throughout the rest of the meet. While the Buckeyes edged the Illini on rings and vault, Illinois outpaced Ohio State on pommel horse, parallel bars, and high bar to keep the meet in favor of the Illini.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
The Sooners come to Champaign for the first time since the 2018-19 season, where the Illini fell to Oklahoma and Nebraska in a tri-meet on Feb. 2, 2019. Ranked second in the nation as a team and first on floor, second on pommel horse, parallel bars, and vault, third on still rings, and fourth on high bar. Additionally, the top three all-around gymnasts in the nation are all Sooners (Fuzzy Benas, Zach Nunez, Raydel Gamboa), and also have multiple other gymnasts ranked in the top ten of each event.
IN THE RANKINGS
Illinois currently ranks fifth in the nation with an average team score of 394.650. UI ranks fourth on the vault, and fifth nationally on pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar. Individually, junior Evan Manivong ranks seventh in the nation on vault, csenior Clay Mason-Stephens ranks 10th on vault, and seniors Hamish Carter and Michael Fletcher sit in a tie for seventh on the high bar.
NEW DUAL MEET FORMAT FOR 2022 SEASON
In August, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved new changes to the dual meet format and team scoring for men's gymnastics. Dual meets will now follow a head-to-head format, and the five-up, five-count format will now be followed throughout the entirety of the season.
The head-to-head format includes gymnasts from both teams alternating routines on the same apparatus. This allows the competition to be easier to follow for spectators and will provide consistency for judging. A six-minute "halftime" has also been added to dual meet formats following the first three events, and will not be used during multiteam events.
Scoring will also change as all meets will follow the five-up, five-count format, meaning only five gymnasts compete per apparatus with each of their scores counting towards the team total. Previously, a six-up, five-count format was used prior to the annual Winter Cup competition, with the five-up, five-count format in use after the Winter Cup.
FIGHTING ILLINI MEN'S GYMNASTICS 2022 OUTLOOK
Illinois returns 17 letter winners from the 2021 squad that placed sixth in the nation and fourth in the B1G. 2021 NCAA Pommel Horse national champion Ian Skirkey returns looking to defend his title, while fellow All-American Connor McCool looks to improve upon a sixth-place finish on the floor at the 2021 NCAA Championships. The defending B1G vault champion Michael Fletcher also returns and looks to lead the team in the all-around along with seniors Hamish Carter and Clay Mason-Stephens. Â
NEWCOMERS
Four newcomers join the Fighting Illini roster in 2022, including three freshmen and a graduate transfer. Graduate Student David Pochinka joins the team after transferring from Minnesota, and will contribute to Illinois' pommel horse, rings, parallel bar and high bar rotations. Freshmen Yan Inhaber-Courchesne (FX, SR, PB, VT), Maksim Farkhadau (PH), and junior transfer Ashton Anaya (SR) will also be key additions to the Illini rotation this season.
MCCOOL AND SKIRKEY NAMED B1G GYMNASTS TO WATCH
Ahead of the 2022 men's gymnastics season, junior Connor McCool and senior Ian Skirkey were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch, and the Illini were picked to finish fourth in the B1G by the conference coaches.
Skirkey enters the 2022 season as the reigning NCAA National Champion on the pommel horse after a stellar 2021 season that included an all-American honor and second team all-B1G honors following his runner-up performance at the 2021 B1G Championships.
McCool enters the 2022 season following an all-American season on the Floor Exercise and a runner-up performance on the floor at the 2021 B1G Championships, earning him second team all-B1G honors.
LOOKING AHEAD
Illinois will enter the Winter Cup break period following Saturday's meet, and are next scheduled to compete on Saturday, Mar. 5 at Nebraska with Minnesota.
FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
Follow @IlliniMGYM on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest photos and videos from Fighting Illini men's gymnastics, and tune in to fightingillini.com for the latest news on the team.
