Chambana Sun

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced a challenging match against No. 6 Penn State, resulting in a loss with a score of 321.75 to 312.550 on Senior Day in Champaign.

The competition began on the floor exercise, where Vahe Petrosyan started strong with a score of 13.450. Garrett Schooley and Will Hauke both contributed scores of 13.600.

On the pommel horse, Connor Micklos led both his team and the field with a score of 13.300 amidst tight judging conditions.

Preston Ngai scored 13.400 on the still rings, leading Illinois, followed by Logan Myers with a score of 13.250.

Illinois showed strength on vault as Matthew Vu Nguyen, Amari Sewell, and Garrett Schooley each achieved scores of 14.250, tying for first place in that event.

Nguyen continued to lead his team on parallel bars with a score of 13.750, while Dylan Shepard closely followed with a personal best of 13.650.

Ryan Vanichtheeranont closed out the meet for Illinois on high bar with a leading score of 13.500.

Head coach Daniel Ribeiro commented on the team's performance: "Although we made uncharacteristic mistakes, this team is not done building yet," he said. "I am confident that they will bounce back and continue to grow." He also took the opportunity to honor the seniors: "Today we got to celebrate a great group of seniors."

Looking ahead, Illinois will compete at Ohio State on March 25 at 3 p.m., concluding their regular season schedule.