CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini men's gymnastics will be represented by a trio of current gymnasts at the 2026 Winter Cup. The senior men's competition is slated for Saturday, Feb. 21, beginning at 6 p.m. CT. Tate Costa, Garrett Schooley, and Preston Ngai are headed to Louisville, Ky., to compete for spots on the USA Gymnastics Senior National Team.
All three Illini will start on floor in the opening rotation from the Kentucky International Convention Center. Fans can watch the action on the USA Gymnastics YouTube Channel or follow scoring on ScoreCat.
About the Winter Cup
The 2026 Winter Cup is a qualifying event to the 2026 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships. The Winter Cup will also culminate in the selection of the Men's Senior National Team to be named following the competition.
The 2026 Winter Cup is the first national competition of the season for junior and senior men's and women's artistic athletes. In the 2026 edition of the event, both the men's and women's National Teams will be renamed following competition, and the U.S. rosters for this year's American Cup will be determined. As a highly anticipated preview of the new 2028 Olympic format, American Cup is a mixed-team international with men and women set to compete together March 7 at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.
Winter Cup all-time results can be found HERE.
Illini Competing at Winter Cup
Tate Costa // Senior // All-Around // Narragansett, Rhode Island //Â USA Gym Bio
Back in action as a senior after missing his junior season due to injury, Costa earned a spot on the USA Gymnastics Senior National Development Team in 2025. The 2026 Winter Cup marks Costa's second appearance competing in the senior competition of the event. Costa is a two-time NCAA All-American and the 2024 High Bar national champion.
Preston Ngai // Junior // All-Around // Elk Grove, California // USA Gym Bio
A junior at Illinois, Ngai earned All-American status in both the pommel horse and all-around at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Ngai is competing at the Winter Cup for the second consecutive year. At the 2025 event, Ngai finished fourth on pommel horse and eighth on rings.
Garrett Schooley // Junior // All-Around // Sarasota, Florida // USA Gym Bio
Also in his junior season at Illinois, Schooley earned NCAA vault All-American honors at the 2025 NCAA Championships with a third-place finish. Schooley is competing in the Winter Cup senior division for the first time in his career after appearances in the junior division in 2021, 2022, and 2023. He collected five event titles across those appearances.
