Huff Hall | University of Illinois Fighting Illini
Huff Hall | University of Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illinois men's gymnastics team faced a challenging competition against the second-ranked Oklahoma team, ultimately losing with a score of 330.700 to 325.500 on January 25 in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Illini began the meet strongly on the pommel horse, where sophomore Brandon Dang achieved victory with a score of 14.500, contributing to a team total of 56.200 for the event.
Moving to the floor exercise, veteran gymnast Sam Phillips tied for second place with a score of 13.900. During the third rotation on vault, freshman Ian Sandoval tied for first place with a career-high score of 14.350, followed by sophomore Garrett Schooley and senior Amari Sewell.
In subsequent events, Preston Ngai surpassed his personal best on still rings with a score of 13.65, while Hasan Aydogdu matched his career high at 13.500. On high bar, Phillips secured third place with a score of 13.850.
Freshman Matthew Vu Nguyen achieved a new career high on parallel bars with a score of 13.350 in the final rotation.
Sam Phillips emerged as the all-around champion with an impressive score of 80.600 and remains undefeated in this category as they prepare for their next meet.
Head coach Daniel Ribeiro expressed pride in his team's performance despite the loss: "I couldn't have asked for anything else from these guys tonight," he said. "Our guys hit 24 out of 24 routines tonight."
The Illini will face No. 4 Nebraska at home in Huff Hall on January 31 at 7 p.m.
Alerts Sign-up