CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 3 Fighting Illini men's gymnastics will welcome William & Mary and Simpson to Huff Hall on Friday, March 1, at 6 p.m. CT for a tri meet.
History
This is the third time this season the Illini have faced off with Simpson: first at the 2024 Windy City Invitational (W, 404.450-361.250) and then at the EVO Collegiate Open (W, 416.150-366.100).
The Illini are 3-0 against William & Mary and have only faced them in postseason action. The only recorded matchup (W, 400.721-371.256) is from 2021 in the preliminaries of the NCAA Championships.
Scouting Report
Simpson is coming off a 400.600-360.950 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma in its home finale. Sterling Pariza won his first all-around title with a score of 73.050. His highest score of the day was a 13.200 on both vault and parallel bars, with his parallel bars score good enough for third place.
William & Mary just lost to Cal, 393.150-376.900, in a virtual meet. W&M was led by a quintet of standouts who posted top-three finishes. Sam Lee led the way by placing second on vault with a 14.450, while Niko Greenly (13.400) and Ricky Pizem (12.750) finished third on rings and high bar, respectively. Greenly's effort was a career high.
Rankings
The Illini stayed at the No.3 spot in the Road to Nationals rankings after a two-week bye from competition.
Illinois has an athlete ranked in each event: Connor McCool is second on floor, Tate Costa is fifth on floor, Brandon Dang is second on pommel horse, Will Hauke is ninth on pommel horse, Ashton Anaya is second on still rings, Amari Sewell is 13th on vault, Michael Fletcher is 15th on vault, Evan Manivong is 16th on vault, Garrett Schooley is 17th on vault, Hauke is tied for 13th on parallel bars, Fletcher is 15th on parallel bars, Logan Myers is eighth on high bar, Costa is ninth on high bar and Ryan Vanichtheeranont is 11th on high bar.
