Chambana Sun

For the seventh consecutive year, Team Orange emerged victorious in the annual Orange and Blue intrasquad competition held at Huff Hall. The event took place on Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Illinois.

The competition began with Team Blue gaining an early advantage through a vault performance by freshman Kennedy Brown. However, Dylan Shepard of Team Orange equalized the score on floor exercise. Micheala Gentry and Nathan Whitaker scored for their respective teams, keeping the scores level. Mareli Muller from Team Blue landed a successful vault, but Preston Ngai countered with a point for Team Orange on pommel horse.

As the second rotation commenced with both teams tied at three points each, Brown delivered another strong performance on uneven bars for Team Blue. Brandon Dang responded with a point for Team Orange on pommel horse. Makayla Green, Garrett Schooley, and Kyle Mayotte added three more points for Team Orange in this rotation. Chloe Cho secured another point for Team Blue on uneven bars.

Entering the third rotation with a two-point lead, Green won her beam matchup for Team Orange. Hasan Aydogdu reclaimed a point for Team Blue on still rings. Eden King and Tali Joelson made it challenging for judges on beam, but Joelson ultimately earned the point. Sam Phillips maintained Team Orange's lead with a flawless parallel bars routine, followed by Ruthuja Nataraj and Ian Sandoval extending their team's momentum.

In the final rotation, despite efforts from Cho and Vahe Petrosyan to reduce the deficit, Amelia Knight put Team Orange one point away from victory with her floor routine. Ryan Vanichtheeranont and Joelson momentarily delayed their win until Phillips clinched it with an impressive high bar routine.

Team Orange triumphed over Team Blue with a final score of 13-11. The women's gymnastics program will begin its official season on January 12 at the Ball State Quad, while the men's team will start competing on January 18 at the Windy City Invitational.