No. 7 Illinois (2-7-1) turned the opening day of the Big Ten Championships into a display of resilience. The Illini finished in third with a 316.700 after entering the meet ranked No. 7 nationally.
Illinois secured its spot behind No. 2 Michigan (323.500) and No. 4 Nebraska (320.700). It also outperformed higher ranked teams No. 5 Ohio State (314.800) and No. 6 Penn State (310.850). Seven Illini – graduates Sam Phillips and Logan Myers; senior Tate Costa; juniors Brandon Dang, Preston Ngai and Garrett Schooley; and sophomore Hasan Aydogdu – advanced to Saturday’s individual event finals.
The meet began on an uneven note, as Illinois opened with a 51.000 on rings. A solid start, but not enough to separate from the field. Aydogdu and Schooley both recorded a 13.150, leaving room for improvement.
The Illini responded to this setback immediately on vault, posting a season high rotation of 55.200 that shifted momentum and brought them back into contention. Schooley scored a 14.300 for a three way tie with junior and senior Wolverine gymnasts Charlie Larson and Landen Blixt, respectively. Such a score marked Schooley’s “eight straight score of 14 or better on vault” from Illini Athletics.
From there, Illinois found its rhythm.
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On parallel bars, the Illini recorded a 52.800 behind Phillips’ 13.500 and Costa’s 13.450. Both gymnasts earned spots in the finals with their clean routines.
Illinois maintained its hold on third place heading into horizontal bar, where it delivered one of its strongest rotations of the night with a 52.950. Aydodgu set the pace with a 13.800 to secure a top four finish, while Phillips added a 13.550 to advance.
Moving to floor, Illinois continued the steady climb. It posted a 52.300 with Costa’s 13.400 and Schooley’s 13.200, both delivering routines that qualified for finals. Costa and Schooley demonstrated the Illini’s depth across all events.
Closing out the night on pommel horse, the usually inconsistent rotation proved to be successful. The Illini scored a 52.450, powered by Ngai’s 14.200 which was the second highest score of the entire and his fourth 14+ performance this season. Dang added a 13.900 for fourth overall, as both secured spots in the finals.
Schooley also stood out in the all-around competition, finishing fifth with a combined score of 76.250. This capped off another consistent performance from the junior.
With seven gymnasts advancing, there will be an opportunity for Illinois to take home titles in all five events. There are ten routines that qualified for the individual finals, and there is at least one gymnast for each respective event.
With momentum building and the NCAA championships around the corner, Illinois turned the opening day of Big Ten into a statement performance. The Illini return to competition for individual event finals April 4 at 7 p.m. CDT on Big Ten Network.
