Illini gymnastics places fifth at nationals

By Cody Westerlund

The Illinois men’s gymnastics team finished fifth at the NCAA Championships. The Illini finished with a score of 359.300, tying their season-high mark. No. 1 Stanford took the title with a score of 362.800.

Sophomore Paul Ruggeri was the Illini’s top performer, finishing third overall in the all-around competition and advancing to Saturday’s individual finals, where he will have the chance to defend his NCAA high bar title.

Daniel Ribeiro, Chris Lung and Roger Pasek also advanced to the individual finals.