The Illinois men’s gymnastics team couldn’t find a way to repeat its title on Saturday night at the 36th annual Windy City Invitational. The Illini finished with 210.500 points, on the tails of Ohio State’s 211.650.

“We performed well, but obviously Ohio State is a good team, they are tied for second with us (in the rankings),” head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. “It was neck and neck; this meet they just performed better.”

Sophomore Wes Haagensen tied for first place on vault to capture the event title with a score of 9.4. Haagensen, who finished in second in the all-around at last year’s Windy City, is still trying to regain top form after coming off shoulder surgery last summer. Hayaskaki said he expects Haagensen to be back competing in the all-around in the next 2-3 weeks.

“When Wes gets back healthy, the whole image and strength of this team will really pick up,” Hayasaki said.

Senior Justin Spring shared the same sentiments.

“He did what he needed to do; he rocked his vault,” Spring said of Haagensen. “For him to excel in any of his events, it’s outstanding.”

Spring, the 2005 NCAA parallel bars champion, finished second on the parallel bars with a 9.450 and third on high bar with a 9.250. Still recovering from an ankle injury he suffered while competing at the World Championships in November, Spring said that although the meet was an “eye-opener,” the team also got back on its feet, when it had mistakes.

Hayasaki, though, said that while the Illini didn’t “get in and go out with a bang like last year,” they were also not 100 percent healthy, either.

“I’m not concerned at this point, because we had a decent meet and we had a 210 (score),” Hayaskai said. “Ohio State had a very good competition.”

The Illini will now return to Huff Hall for its home opener next Saturday when they face No. 8 Minnesota. With a number of errors in its routines, Hayasaki was mindful that the Illini only fell to Ohio State by the slimmest of margins.

“We will make this up,” he said, “later in the season.”