COLUMBUS, Ohio — Senior Connor McCool secured his 11th title with a 14.150 performance in the 401.000-399.200 loss to Ohio State Saturday afternoon. The title win puts him in the Top-10 All-Time Titles list, tied with C.J. Maestas, who competed from 2012-2015.

Titles are unique to Illinois men's gymnastics, created by head coach Daniel Ribeiro in 2012. Ribeiro then backlogged every event winner in program history and titles have been recorded ever since. 

Illinois' loss to Ohio State is just the second of the season, putting them at an 8-2 mark, and first in conference play, putting them at 1-1.

"Sometimes you have an off day," Ribeiro said. "Our energy was strong and not a single miss we had was pressure based, which means we just need to continue building our preparation. The more prepared we are, the less likely mistakes will happen. This will fuel us through the bye."

The Illini had a strong floor performance, sweeping the first three spots. McCool got the title with a 14.150 with Amari Sewell close behind him with a 14.000 and a new career-high. Michael Fletcher got the third place slot with a 13.900.

The Orange and Blue was again in the top three on pommel horse, topped by Ian Skirkey with a season-high 14.900. Max Farkhadau took second with a 13.850 and David Pochinka was third with a 13.650.

Ashton Anaya not only took the title, but also broke his career-high with a 14.800 on still rings. Josh Cook, who competed in the all-around, was the next highest scoring Illini with a 13.600. 

The Illini fumbled a bit on vault, with Evan Manivong getting the highest Illinois score with 14.200.

Will Hauke had a standout performance on parallel bars, taking the title and a 14.000. Fletcher was a step behind him, scoring a 13.900. 

Illinois finished the day on high bar, with Manivong securing a 13.600. 

As a team, Illinois will have a three week bye, coming back with a tri meet against No. 1 Stanford and Cal on March 4. As for McCool, Skirkey and Fletcher, the trio will compete in the Winter Cup on Feb. 25-26 to try to secure a spot on the US Championship team.