COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The fifth-ranked Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team tallied the second-highest score in the NCAA on Saturday afternoon, scoring a 416.000 en route to a quad meet victory over Navy, Army, and Rocky Mountain Pride. Illinois will now enter the postseason after eclipsing their previous season-high team score in each of the past three meets.
"We came off a tough loss the last two weekends knowing we were capable of so much more. The guys really stepped up and showed what kind of team we are today. We posted the second highest score in the country this year today, hitting 30 out of 30 routines. Next stop is Big Ten Championships, and we're excited and ready!" head coach Justin Spring said of his team's performance.
Illinois eclipsed their season-highs in team total (416.000), floor exercise (71.350), pommel horse (69.700) and parallel bars (69.500), posting the third-highest floor score in the NCAA, the highest pommel horse score in the NCAA, and third highest parallel bars score in the NCAA.
Senior Hamish Carter earned the all-around title at the meet with an 82.900, his second week in a row posting an 80+ in the all-around, while senior Ian Skirkey claimed the pommel horse title with his second score above 15 this season, scoring a career-high 15.400.
HOW IT HAPPENED
MEET NOTES
- Illinois set new season high team scores on floor (71.35), pommel horse (69.70), parallel bars (69.50)Â and total team score (416.000).
- Illinois' 416.000 team score is the second-best team score in the NCAA this season, only behind Stanford's 419.000.
- Illinois' 71.35Â on floor exercise is the third-highest floor score in the NCAA behind Stanford (71.75) and Nebraska (71.55).Â
- Illinois' 69.7 on pommel horse is the highest pommel horse score in the NCAA this season, eclipsing the Illini's previous score of 69.45 set last week vs. Michigan.
- Illinois' 69.5 on parallel bars is the third-highest parallel bars score in the NCAA this season behind Stanford (71.85) and Michigan (69.95).
- Senior Ian Skirkey scored the highest pommel horse score in the NCAA with a 15.40, eclipsing his 15.30 set at Nebraska.
- Floor Exercise:
- Pommel Horse:
- Still Rings:
- Parallel Bars:
UP NEXT
Illinois will head to the postseason after a week break, traveling to Penn State for the 2022 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships, with Team Final and Event Qualifications taking place on April 1st and Event Finals on April 2nd.Â
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