Illini Men's Gymnastics Falters Against #2 Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. - The Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team fought a hard battle against No. 2 Oklahoma, but fell short of a victory with a score of 330.700-325.500 on Saturday, Jan. 25.

The Illini started off the night strong on the pommel horse, where sophomore Brandon Dang was victorious with a 14.500. The team performed consistently, winning the event with a team total of 56.200.

Illinois continued onto the floor exercise, where veteran Sam Phillips earned a tie for second place (13.900).

In the third rotation, the Orange and Blue saw three athletes hit the 14.000 range on vault. Freshman Ian Sandoval tied for the top spot with a 14.350, followed by sophomore Garrett Schooley (14.200), and senior Amari Sewell tying up third place (14.000). Sandoval broke his career-high score from the season's first meet, the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 18).

Halfway through the meet, the Illini kept things swinging on the still rings, where Preston Ngai bested his career high with a 13.65, and Hasan Aydogdu tied a career high (13.500). The team's total score was 54.250.

Over on the high bar, Phillips claimed a podium spot with a 13.850 for a third place finish.

In the final rotation (parallel bars), the team saw another strong third place performance by a rookie. Freshman Matthew Vu Nguyen secured a score of 13.350 for a new career high.

Sam Phillips was once again crowned the all-around champion, with a strong score of 80.600. Phillips is now undefeated in the all-around going into the Illini's next meet.

"I couldn't have asked for anything else from these guys tonight," said head coach Daniel Ribeiro. "Our guys hit 24 out of 24 routines tonight. Unfortunately, Oklahoma did the same, and just slightly out-executed us. We posted a huge score and everyone showed growth from last week. This was one of those losses that you can still be proud of, and it will fuel us headed into Big Ten competition next week."

The Orange and Blue will take on No. 4 Nebraska at home in Huff Hall on Friday, Jan. 31. The meet starts at 7 p.m. CT.