CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team grabbed five event titles and scored season-highs on four events to down the Ohio State Buckeyes 400.750-394.500 Saturday afternoon at Huff Hall.
Five Illini secured individual event titles, including Ashton Anaya (Rings), Hamish Carter (HB), Dylan Kolak (Vault), David Pochinka (PB) and Ian Skirkey (PH), leading to a season-best team score on floor, pommel horse, rings, and parallel bars.
"Big win today for theses guys again. They have been working relentlessly in the gym over the last three weeks and it's really starting to pay off" head coach Justin Spring said. "We need another big score jump before next weekend as we're hosting one of the country's best, Oklahoma. 2-0 in the Big Ten is a great start to the year, though."
Trailing by just 0.1 after floor, the Illini grabbed the lead on pommel horse thanks to a season-best 66.000 team score, and never gave up the lead throughout the rest of the meet. While the Buckeyes edged the Illini on rings and vault, Illinois outpaced Ohio State on pommel horse, parallel bars, and high bar to keep the meet in favor of the Illini.
HOW IT HAPPENED
MEET NOTES
- Illinois set a new season-high team score (400.750).
- Illinois established new season-best scores on floor (67.900), pommel horse (66.000), still rings (65.700) and parallel bars (67.000).
- Junior Ashton Anaya scored a career-best 13.850 on still rings, taking home his first rings event title of his Illini career.
- Senior Hamish Carter won the high bar for the second meet in a row with a score of 13.600.
- Junior Josh Cook competed as the lone all-arounder for the Illini, setting season-best scores on floor (13.400), pommel horse (12.400), parallel bars (12.700), high bar (13.150) and the all-around (78.250, and tied his career-best score on vault (14.050).
- Senior Michael Fletcher set a season-best score of 13.750 on parallel bars and scored a career-high 13.850 on pommel horse.
- Sophomore Will Hauke set career-best scores of 13.400 on pommel horse and 13.500 on parallel bars, and established a season-best on the high bar (12.400).
- Junior Dylan Kolak established new career-bests on floor (13.950) and vault (14.600) while taking home his first-career event title on vault.
- Graduate Student Jordan Kovach set season-high scores on rings (13.150) and parallel bars (13.800).
- Senior Clay Mason-Stephens established season-best scores on floor (13.500) and vault (14.400).
- Junior Connor McCool set a season-high on floor (13.950).
- Graduate Student David Pochinka set season-high scores on parallel bars (14.150) and high bar (13.350) while taking home his first parallel bars event title as an Illini.
- Senior Ian Skirkey set a new season-high on pommel horse (14.450) while taking home his first event title of the season on pommel horse, and the seventh event title of his career.
UP NEXT
The Illini return home next Saturday afternoon to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. The meet will start at 4 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on B1G+.
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