ABOUT THE MEET
After a hard-fought meet falling to No. 6 Nebraska but putting up a season-high score of 405.550, the fifth-ranked Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team will head back to Huff Hall for the final home meet of the season, taking on fourth-ranked Michigan on Sunday (March 13) for a 2:30 p.m. CT meet start. The meet will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
LAST TIME OUT
The No. 6 Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team fought hard and scored a season-high 405.650, but ultimately fell to No. 3 Nebraska, who scored 408.050 in the meet.
Four Illini achieved event titles on the evening, with senior Ian Skirkey taking the pommel horse with a career-high 15.300, the second-highest pommel horse score in the NCAA this season. Junior Ashton Anaya grabbed the event title on rings (14.250) while graduate student David Pochinka and senior Michael Fletcher shared the parallel bars event title with a score of 14.000.
"We were on the verge of an epic night, but we just had a few too many falls. We gave this one away. This was still an exciting night because I think the team is starting to really see their full potential and we're going to need to hit that next weekend against Michigan" head coach Justin Spring said.
The Fighting Illini lead the meet through the first five rotations before Nebraska scored a 71.550 on vault as opposed to the Illini's 67.00 on rings to ultimately take home the conference win. Illinois outscored the Huskers on pommel horse, vault, and parallel bars.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
Michigan ranks fourth in the nation overall. The Wolverines rank in the top six in team score on all events, with still rings (2nd) being the highest ranking. Paul Juda ranks tops in the NCAA on the high bar with an average score of 14.250, and David Willett currently ranks sixth in the nation in the all-around.
IN THE RANKINGS
Illinois currently ranks fifth in the nation with a four-score average of 398.883. UI ranks fourth on pommel horse, second on vault, and third on high bar. Individually, Connor McCool ranks ninth on floor, Ian Skirkey ranks third on pommel horse, Evan Manivong ranks tenth on vault, and Hamish Carter ranks fourth on high bar.
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.
NEW DUAL MEET FORMAT IN NCAA MEN'S GYMNASTICS
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.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS AND CHAMPIONS
Spring welcomes back two gymnasts that were named All-Americans in 2021, as well as two event champions. Ian Skirkey (NCAA Pommel Horse national champion, Pommel Horse All-American, Second Team All-B1G), Connor McCool (Floor Exercise All-American, Second Team All-B1G), and Michael Fletcher (B1G Vault champion, First Team All-B1G) all look to build off of their successful 2021 campaigns in the upcoming season.
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 Ashton Anaya (SR) will also be key additions to the Illini rotation this season.
MCCOOL, 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.
RETURNING FROM INJURY
After season-ending injuries last season, the Illini welcome back two contributors to the 2021 roster: senior Clay Mason-Stephens and sophomore Will Hauke. Spring says the team will be much stronger in the 2022 campaign with the two returning from injury.
LOOKING AHEAD
Illinois will head back home to Huff Hall on Mar. 13 for Senior Day vs. Michigan. The meet will be broadcasted live on the Big Ten Network, set for a 2:30 p.m. start time.
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