#2 Illinois Reigns Victorious Over #4 Nebraska

RECAP

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Freshman Ian Sandoval rose to the occasion, leading the Orange and Blue to a 321.300-320.800 victory over No. 4 Nebraska in their home opener at Huff Hall on Jan. 31.

In the final warm up period, veteran all-arounder Sam Phillips went down with an injury, causing head coach Daniel Ribeiro to make last-minute changes to the lineups for all six rotations.

"These guys showed an incredible amount of resiliency tonight," said Ribeiro. "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 hit a season high in the lead-off spot for the Illini on floor with a 13.350, before Sandoval notched a career-high 13.600 to tie for the event title.

For the third-straight week, Brandon Dang won the pommel horse title (14.250). Preston Ngai took fourth in the event with a 13.550.

After the second rotation, Illinois led Nebraska 107.400-105.300, but Nebraska would close the gap on the still rings. Hasan Aydogdu led the way for the Illini with a 13.600, a new career high and good for second place.

The Illini took the top three spots on vault. Garrett Schooley led the way with a 14.400, with Sandoval (14.300) and Amari Sewell (14.200) following closely behind. Shepard rounded out the scoring with a 13.850.

Ian Sandoval continued his upward trajectory with a career-high 13.500 on parallel bars, putting him in a three-way tie for first place. Ryan Vanichtheeranont made his parallel bar season debut and placed fourth with a 13.300.

To round out the night, Vanichtheeranont and Ngai scored 13.450 and 13.400 respectively on high bar to secure the Illini win.

Sandoval took the all-around title with a 79.250, marking his third win of the evening.

The Illini head back on the road on Feb. 8 to face No. 6 Michigan. Competition begins at 1 p.m. CT.