Results
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 6 Illinois men's gymnastics team grabbed the second-place spot in a tri meet with No.2 Stanford and No. 10 Cal with a score of 399.400 Saturday afternoon in Stanford, Calif.
Stanford, who has won the national title the past three years, took first place with a score of 410.200 and Cal took third with a 386.250.
"We had a really tough start to our competition that could have spiraled into a meltdown," head coach Daniel Ribiero said. "This group of guys have something special in the energy that they bring and this turned the meet around for us on the final three events. The turning point for us was our two freshman, Kyle and Ryan slamming back-to-back high bar routines that immediately brought the positive energy right back. Although it was not our best showing, we definitely grew a lot from this experience."
Illinois started the meet off on rings where Ethan Boder took the top Illini spot with a 13.650 and also tied for fifth place in his first meet back since Jan. 21. Ashton Anaya was a step behind him, securing a 13.100.
Next up was floor where Connor McCool snatched his 12th floor title with a 14.500, putting him ninth in the All-Time Title leaders on floor. Will Hauke scored a 13.800, .10 from tying his career-high.
Ian Skirkey, fresh off being named to the National Senior Team, rounded out a shaky pommel horse performance with a 14.450 – just .2 away from beating Stanford's Khoi Young.
Kyle Mayotte, Ryan Vanichtheeranont and David Pochinka all had the top Illini score on high bar with a 13.400, marking Mayotte's first time on the event and Vanichtheeranont's new career-high. Evan Manivong was close behind them with a 13.200
Manivong took the top spot on vault, with an impressive 14.750 and second place in the event. Michael Fletcher, fresh off his third-place finish at the Winter Cup in the apparatus, secured a solid 14.700.
Illinois ended the meet strong on parallel bars with Pochinka tying his career-high and earning the title with a 14.600 with Hauke taking a 14.000. Connor Micklos, who stepped in the lineup last minute, broke his career-high with a 12.900.
The Illini will come back home for their last home meet against Nebraska on March 12 at 3 p.m. for Senior Day.
