Yan Inhaber-Courchesne Student Manager | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Yan Inhaber-Courchesne Student Manager | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Freshman Ian Sandoval played a pivotal role in Illinois' narrow victory over Nebraska, with the team scoring 321.300 to Nebraska's 320.800 at their home opener in Huff Hall on January 31.
In an unexpected turn during the final warm-up period, veteran gymnast Sam Phillips suffered an injury, prompting head coach Daniel Ribeiro to adjust the lineup for all six rotations. "These guys showed an incredible amount of resiliency tonight," Ribeiro commented. "To put it all together the way they did right after seeing [Sam] go down with an injury showed the character of our team."
Dylan Shepard set a season high for Illinois on floor with a score of 13.350, followed by Sandoval achieving a career-high 13.600 to tie for the event title.
Brandon Dang secured his third consecutive pommel horse title with a score of 14.200, while Preston Ngai placed fourth in the event with a score of 13.550.
Illinois led Nebraska 107.400-105.300 after the second rotation, but Nebraska narrowed the lead on still rings where Hasan Aydogdu achieved a career-high score of 13.600, securing second place.
On vault, Illinois claimed the top three spots: Garrett Schooley scored 14.400, followed by Sandoval at 14.300 and Amari Sewell at 14.200; Shepard completed the scoring with a score of 13.850.
Sandoval continued his impressive performance with another career-high score of 13.500 on parallel bars, resulting in a three-way tie for first place alongside Ryan Vanichtheeranont who made his season debut on parallel bars and finished fourth with a score of 13.300.
Vanichtheeranont and Ngai concluded the night by scoring 13.450 and 13.400 respectively on high bar, sealing Illinois' victory.
Sandoval also took home the all-around title with a total score of 79.250, marking his third win that evening.
The Illini are scheduled to compete against No.6 Michigan on February 8 at 1 p.m CT.
### Event Winners ###
- Brandon Dang - Pommel Horse (14.200)
- Ian Sandoval - Floor Exercise (13.600), Parallel Bars (13.500), All-Around (79.250)
- Garrett Schooley - Vault (14.400)
### Career Highs ###
- Hasan Aydogdu - Still Rings (13.600)
- Preston Ngai - High Bar (13.400)
- Ian Sandoval - Floor Exercise (13.600), Parallel Bars (13.500), High Bar (13.050)
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