LINCOLN, Neb. – Three different Fighting Illini earned event titles on Saturday at No. 3 Nebraska, but No. 7 Illinois came up short against the Cornhuskers, 322.350-312.050, in Lincoln.Â
Garrett Schooley, Preston Ngai, and Sam Phillips all claimed titles as the Orange and Blue closed their 2026 regular-season campaign.
Starting the afternoon on floor, Schooley used a 14.100 to take home the title. Phillips made his first appearance in the Illini floor unit this season and turned in a 12.700, finishing seventh. Illinois posted a 51.850 in its first rotation of the day.
With a career-best 14.600, Ngai won his first event title of the season on pommel horse. The sophomore now owns event titles across three different disciplines this season. Brandon Dang's 13.600 effort was Illinois' second-best mark on the event and was good for fourth place.Â
On rings, Logan Myers' 13.600 was Illinois' top score in the meet and earned the fifth-year a third-place finish. The Orange and Blue tallied a 52.400 team score during the third event.
Illinois' top event score of the day came on vault, on which the Illini tallied a 53.800. Schooley registered Illinois' top mark in the event, which came in the form of a 14.050 to take fourth. The sophomore has scored 14.0 or better in seven consecutive meets. Tate Costa turned in a season-best 13.750 during the rotation and finished in fifth place.
In his lone event of the day, Dylan Shepard anchored the Illini parallel bars lineup and scored a season-high 13.600, earning him a third-place finish. Sam Kaplan's 13.250 tied for fourth place, while Tate Costa's 13.050 marked a season-best on bars. Myers made his first parallel bars appearance of the season, posting a 12.800 to round out the Illinois rotation. As a whole, Illinois finished with a 52.700 on the fifth event.
Illinois' 51.150 topped the Huskers on the high bar in the final rotation of the day. Phillips produced a season-high 14.300 on high bar, which tied his career high in the event and earned the event title. The fifth-year has won the event title in each of Illinois' last two meets and three times overall this season. Costa's 13.050 was good for a share of third place.
UP NEXT
Illinois returns to action for the Big Ten Championships on April 3-4 in Lincoln, Neb.
