The Illinois men’s gymnastics team, ranked seventh nationally, will travel to State College to face No. 7 Penn State on Saturday, February 1 at noon Central Time. The event follows a tie between the two teams at the Sam Mikulak Invitational last weekend, where both squads posted scores of 317.650.
Illinois (0-3-1) had notable individual performances in their recent meet. Junior Brandon Dang won the pommel horse with a score of 14.650 and is currently ranked first in the nation in this event. He now shares seventh place for most pommel horse titles (19) in program history with Kevin Oltendorf, Ben Newman, and Dave Stoldt. Preston Ngai holds fourth place nationally on pommel horse as well.
Sophomore Nathan Whitaker achieved a career-high score of 14.550 to win the floor exercise and enters week four as the top-ranked gymnast in the nation on that apparatus.
Garrett Schooley took first place on vault with a score of 14.400, which places him seventh nationally for vault this season.
Sophomore Hasan Aydogdu is also among gymnasts to watch for Illinois, ranking fourth nationally on still rings and eighth on high bar.
Following their trip to University Park, Illinois will host Michigan—ranked fourth—on February 7 at Huff Hall for their home opener. The meet is scheduled for noon and admission is free.
The University of Illinois Fighting Illini Men’s Gymnastics program operates under NCAA Division I regulations as part of the university’s athletics department and provides student-athletes opportunities for competition and academic achievement through regional and national events (official website). The program emphasizes skill development, team unity, and contributes to the university’s athletic legacy while supporting athletes’ educational progress (official website).
