ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 5 men's gymnastics team will finish the 2023 regular season at No. 3 Michigan on March 18 at 1:30 p.m.
ABOUT THE MEET
This is the season finale for Illinois and Michigan before heading to the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
If the Illini capture the win, they have a potential of winning the Big Ten regular season title after coming in last in the preseason poll.
Illinois holds a 136-96-1 record over Michigan, but have not beaten the Wolverines since 2020 when the Illini came in first in a tri meet hosted in Champaign.
LAST TIME OUT
The No. 7 Illinois men's gymnastics team dominated Senior Day against No. 5 Nebraska 411.550-395.250, notching a new team season-high score.
Senior Connor McCool, once again, shined on floor securing a 14.600, .5 away from taking the title. Evan Manivong scored a 13.500 with Amari Sewell securing a 13.350 on the apparatus.
Ian Skirkey secured another event title on pommel horse grabbing a 14.750 with David Pochinka following behind him with a 13.850. Connor Micklos also had a good showing, collecting a 13.400.
Ashton Anaya put out another stellar score with a 14.300, as well as, winning the title. Ethan Boder secured a 13.450, with Michael Fletcher scoring a 13.350.
Amari Sewell tied for first on vault with a new career-high, 14.800, marking the fourth career-high he's broken this year. Fletcher and McCool notched an impressive 14.550, with Josh Cook securing a 14.350.
Pochinka continued his success on parallel bars, scoring a 14.300 with Will Hauke securing a 14.150. Fletcher continued his all-around success, grabbing a 13.900.The Illini scored a season-high 68.800 team score on the apparatus as well.
In the last rotation, Pochinka tallied a 13.600 and took the top Illini score. Ryan Vanichtheeranont tied his career-high with a 13.400, with Will Hauke scoring a 13.250 in his high bar debut.
SENIOR DAY SHOW OFF
The huge win over Nebraska came on Senior Day, marking the first time the Illini have beaten a Big Ten opponent at home by 16 points since 1989 (the year head coach Daniel Ribeiro was born) when Illinois defeated Michigan State 273.80-251.45, when the sport used a different scoring system.
The Illini also went undefeated at home this year (3-0) for the first time since 2020 when they went 5-0.
