CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Orange and Blue return to Huff Hall for their 2025 home opener, as they welcome the No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers to Champaign. The Illini look to remain perfect in Big Ten competition as the team celebrates the Lunar New Year. Post-meet, fans are welcome to join the team for an autograph signing session.
About the Opponent
Nebraska competed at the Rocky Mountain Open and earned third place, behind Stanford and Oklahoma, with a score of 320.450. Taylor Christopulos earned his 23rd event title on high bar. Sophomore Alex Nitache placed second in the all-around. On floor exercise, Chase Mondi placed second and Nathan York placed third. Mondi also earned second place on vault. Senior Chris Hiser was third on still rings.Â
Last Time Out
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. Brandon Dang was victorious on pommel horse with a 14.500. Sam Phillips earned a tie for second place on floor with a 13.900, a season high for the redshirt fifth year. Three Illini hit in the 14 range on vault: Ian Sandoval (14.350) who set a career high and tied for first, Garrett Schooley (14.200) and Amari Sewell (14.000). On still rings, Preston Ngai earned a career-high 13.650, while Hasan Aydogdu tied his best mark (13.500). In the final rotation, Matt Nguyen scored a career-high 13.350 on parallel bars. Phillips won the all-around competition with a new season high of 80.600.
Weekly Winners
- The College Gymnastics Association (CGA) announced its Week 3 awards on Wednesday (Jan. 29), honoring Brandon Dang and Ian Sandoval among its recipients.
- Dang earned Specialist of the Week, totaling four CGA honors for his career after winning Rookie of the Week three times in 2024 (Feb. 14, Feb. 28, March 3). The sophomore currently sits second in the national pommel horse rankings.
- Sandoval was named the CGA's Rookie of the Week, marking his first CGA weekly award title. Sandoval is now ranked nationally in the top 10 on vault (8th) and in the all-around (4th).
All Eyes On Us
- Preston Ngai and Garrett Schooley were named to this year's Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch list during the preseason.
- Both Ngai and Schooley were letterwinners for the Illini last season.
- Ngai competed in eight meets and showed up big in big moments, setting career highs at the Big Ten Championships (14.900 on vault) and NCAA Qualifiers (14.300 on pommel horse).
- Schooley also competed in eight meets and secured two event titles during the season (vault, all-around) as he repeatedly set and re-set career highs in all six events and the all-around.
Greater Goals, More Motivation
- Tate Costa, the reigning NCAA high bar champion, enters his junior year with a renewed sense of motivation for the season.
- After winning the high bar title in April 2024, Costa earned a spot at the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships at the end of May. He finished 25th overall to earn a spot on the USA Gymnastics Senior Development Team and the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Team Trials in June.
- Due to his successes and his can-do attitude, Costa was named a captain for the second-straight year.
- "This last season definitely gave me a sense of belief in what I'm capable of," Costa said. "I now have goals for the next four years. I want to make an Olympic team, make a World Championships team, make the Senior National Team. I want to set myself up to compete at international competitions and show that I'm ready to compete for the United States at the Olympic Games. On top of that, in terms of NCAA goals, I want to win more national titles."
Career Record: 38-21Â (.644), Third season
Big Ten: 6-3 (.667), Third season
Complete Illinois Meet Notes (PDF)
