Illinois men’s gymnastics (1-1, 0-0) got an early look at some tough competition when it took on No. 1 Oklahoma (5-1) on Saturday. After facing a high-caliber N0. 6 Michigan (4-1, 0-0) program in its first matchup, the season didn’t get any easier for Illinois.
With a ranked win under their belt, the Illini had built up some momentum to take on the Sooners. It was a close match, but Oklahoma ended up on top, narrowly defeating Illinois by a score of 325.500 to 330.700.
Sophomore Brandon Dang led the way for the Illini, scoring a 14.500 on the pommel horse. That performance would allow the team to take the event.
Illinois continued to perform strongly in the vault, where freshman Ian Sandoval tied for first with 14.350. It was a new personal best for the freshman, showing signs of development in the young season. Sophomore Garrett Schooley and senior Amari Sewell also performed on vault, finishing right behind Sandoval.
Freshman Matthew Nguyen followed that up with a score of 13.350 on parallel bars. He earned a third-place spot and a career-high here, but it wasn’t enough.
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Unfortunately, the Sooners were just too good of a team to take down over the weekend. By no means did the Illini have a bad match; the Sooners just asserted themselves as one of the best teams in men’s gymnastics.
Despite the loss, redshirt fifth-year Sam Phillips crushed the all-around with a score of 80.600. That was good enough to make him the champion for a second straight match. With Phillips also coming out victorious in the first match, he’s officially undefeated on the year.
Even with this defeat, Illinois improved its overall score, which is crucial for the team’s development. The Illini are looking to bounce back on Friday as they face off against the No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0, 0-0) at home.
