Going into Sunday’s meet against No. 8 Iowa in Iowa City, the Illinois men’s gymnastics team knew it needed a big performance. It earned just that as the team posted an NCAA season-high 217.600 team score. Iowa scored a season-high 214.400, but the Illini’s four event title winners proved to be too much. Sixth-ranked Illinois (10-2, Big Ten 7-2) heads into the final week of the regular season after displaying the ‘big score’ that it had been looking for all year.

Head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said the Illini finally put together the type of scores they have been capable of.

“I think we finally set our own standards – the bar is raised,” he said.

Senior Justin Spring had the same thoughts.

“Finally this meet we came together and hit our sets; we’ve kept saying it for so long,” Spring said. “It’s going to be a good last couple meets.”

Senior Ted Brown started the Illini off on the right foot on the first routine as he won the pommel horse title with a score of 9.200. Brown’s season-high score, along with the team score of 34.350, was the best the Illini had done all season on the apparatus. Coming into the meet at Iowa, the team had struggled to find its rhythm on pommel horse. Just a week earlier against UIC in Chicago, freshman Chris Lung had a career-best 9.000, but Brown only put up an 8.550. Hayasaki, though, said he saw a difference in practice earlier in the week.

“I saw more than 25 hit routines,” Hayasaki said. “That’s the most I’ve seen in all the weeks since we’ve been training. (Pommel horse) really got us started.”

Spring said he attributed the turnaround to a change in the lineup -ÿBrown, who normally starts off pommel horse was switched to second in the rotation.

Illinois then won floor exercise and posted a season-best 37.350; sophomore Tyler Yamauchi finished in second with a 9.550, a half-point better than his previous season-high. Spring and sophomore all-arounder Wes Haagensen finished with scores of 9.400 and 9.350, in third and fourth places, respectively. Yamauchi also tied for first place on vault with a 9.300.

The Illini trailed the Hawkeyes 144.400-143.950 as they headed into the final two rotations. Spring’s title-winning 9.650 and sophomore Ross Bradley’s career-high 9.600 on high bar allowed Illinois to set a season-high, though. Its score of 37.500 was more than one point better than its previous best of 36.150.

Spring, the No. 1-ranked gymnast in the country on parallel bars, also took that event title for his second of the day. Spring, after getting a cortisone shot last week to heal nagging shoulder pain, was taking the meet light, but the coaches threw him in at the last minute with no pressure or expectations, he said.

“We just didn’t know how well he was going to be able to do,” Hayasaki said. “It put him back on track and into his own. He’s going to start hitting his routines.”

The Illini will be back in action on Saturday against Temple at 2 p.m. The meet will also serve as Senior Day – the Illini will honor seniors Spring, Brown, Adam Pummer and Anthony Russo.

Spring, though, said that after the meet in Iowa City, Illinois has the momentum it needs to finish the season strong.

“We have to go in the gym and see where we are; we have to keep our eye on the prize, we are so close,” Spring said. “We just have to make sure to get it.”