Select members of No. 3 Illinois men’s gymnastics traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, where graduate student Connor McCool, sophomore Tate Costa and freshman Brandon Dang competed at the Winter Cup. They also faced up against two former Illini: Alex Diab, who also competed against the Illini at the 2024 EVO meet earlier this month, and Jordan Kovach. Ian Sandoval, an incoming freshman and recruit for the class of 2028, also competed.
At the Winter Cup, Costa competed in the all-around, McCool on the vault and floor and Dang on the pommel horse. Costa, Dang and McCool were in search of a ticket to the 2024 U.S. Gymnastics Championship. Dang, who recently received Big Ten Specialist of the Week and Scholar of the Week, earned an impressive 14.200 on the pommel horse. However, his score was later updated to 14.825 at the end of the competition, and his efforts were rewarded with a bronze medal.
This weekend wasn’t McCool’s first time at the Winter Cup, as he earned a bid at the 2023 U.S. Championship for his excellent performance in the 2023 Winter Cup. This time around, McCool delivered two great performances on the vault (12.500) and on the floor (12.950).
Costa had a busy weekend in the all-around. First, on the parallel bars, Costa notched a 13.100 before moving to a 12.400 on the high bar. On the floor, Costa secured a 12.200 before transitioning to the pommel horse where his performance earned him a 12.650. On the still rings, Costa delivered a routine that totaled 12.250. Costa’s weekend was rounded out on the vault where he saw his second-highest score of the Winter Cup (13.050). The sum of Costa’s scores was 75.650.
Heading into the final stretch of Illinois’ season, its approach will be vital. Head coach Daniel Ribeiro said that the team is well aware of their expectation to be great every day and that it’s a vital part of improvement, a philosophy that has worked extremely well for the Illini this season.
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“I have a philosophy, it stems on numbers and statistics,” Ribeiro said. “It’s a Moneyball approach. The guys know, the guys believe in it. They know if they want to be great they need to be great in training. That mentality of constantly, every day, being great in training makes them prepared to be great in competition.”
Illinois men’s gymnastics will be back at Huff Hall on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT. Illinois will face William & Mary and Simpson.
