IOTW: Alex Diab and Illini men’s gymnastics
By Miles Powers-Huang, Staff writer
April 12, 2018
Filed under Gymnastics, Illini of the Week, Men's Sports, Sports, Top Stories
Athletic talent cannot be bought; it is given. For Illinois gymnast Alex Diab, this idea is ingrained within him by his coach, which Diab then passes down to his teammates as well. The Illini men’s gymnastics team captured the Big Ten championship on Friday with a team total of 413.900. Accordin...
Illini gymnastics: the powerhouse that deserves attention
By Orri Benatar, On-air sports editor
February 4, 2018
Filed under Columns, Gymnastics, Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports, Women's Sports
It’s easy to forget about smaller sports. Our attention is so focused on the pursuit of football and men’s basketball success that we can overlook all the great things other student-athletes achieve. Golf has gained more of following, but it's time another Illinois sport gets its due: gymnastics....
Baker near-perfect in vault; named Co-Gymnast of the Week in Big Ten
By Brandon Wenzel, Contributing Writer
February 1, 2018
Filed under Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports
The crowd in Huff Hall began to quiet down as Bobby Baker began his run toward the vault during the Illinois men’s gymnastics meet against Arizona State. “It was the exact same run that I’ve been doing for four years,” Baker said. Everything leading up to that springboard had been exactly t...
Women lose, men win in gymnastics home openers
By Gavin Good, Assistant sports editor
January 22, 2018
Filed under Gymnastics, Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports, Women's Sports
Kasey Meeks made history on vault Friday night, becoming the first Illini freshman gymnast to open her career with consecutive individual event titles since Kelsey Joannides in 2009. However it wasn’t enough to propel No. 21 Illinois to an upset victory over No. 3 Michigan, which came away with a...
Illini men’s and women’s teams earn season-opening victories
By Gavin Good, Assistant sports editor
January 18, 2018
Filed under Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports, Women's Sports
The Illinois men’s and women’s gymnastics teams got off to strong starts to the 2018 season, winning their respective opening meets, and each team is looking to carry early momentum into home meets at Huff Hall this weekend. In first-year head coach Nadalie Walsh’s debut competition at the helm of...
Men’s, women’s gymnastics face off in Orange and Blue exhibition
By Satvik Sethia, Staff writer
December 11, 2017
Filed under Gymnastics, Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports, Women's Sports
The Illini were split in two at Huff Hall on Saturday, as the members of the Fighting Illini men’s and women’s gymnastics teams compete in their annual Orange and Blue exhibition. The judges of the events were student-athletes from other sports, and the audience determined the winner in case of a tie. T...
Illinois men’s gymnastics finishes season on high note
By Will Gerard, Staff writer
May 8, 2017
Filed under Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports
All season long, head coach Justin Spring spoke of looking for consistency from his team, and he finally got that performance during postseason play. The Illini started the season strong, winning their first 11 meets of the year before suffering four-consecutive defeats leading up to the Big Ten cham...
Illinois men’s gymnastics finish third at nationals
By Will Gerard, Staff writer
April 24, 2017
Filed under Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports
The Illini concluded their season Saturday, narrowly missing the ultimate goal of any NCAA team: a national championship. Army hosted the meet at Christl Arena, in West Point, New York. Illinois finished third with an overall team score of 422.100, and four gymnasts — junior Bobby Baker, sophomore Alex Dia...
Illinois men’s gymnastics finishes on high note at Big Ten championship
By Will Gerard, Staff writer
April 10, 2017
Filed under Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports
The Illinois men's gymnastics team came up just short of the team title in the first day of the Big Ten championship meet, but captured individual event titles on the second. Junior Brandon Ngai, sophomore Johnny Jacobson and sophomore Alex Diab won three of six Big Ten event titles in front of a hom...
Illinois men’s gymnastics hosts Big Ten Championships
By Will Gerard, Staff writer
April 6, 2017
Filed under Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports
The Illinois men’s gymnastics team has been preparing for the Big Ten Championships the entire season and will not have to travel far. The State Farm Center will host the conference championship meet Friday. “We’ve been thinking about it all year,” said senior Matt Foster. “I’ve been visualizing my p...
Illinois men’s gymnastics awaits top competition
By Will Gerard, Staff writer
March 9, 2017
Filed under Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports
The No. 3 Illinois men’s gymnastics team will start the final run of its season Saturday with a meet against Stanford and Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This meet will be followed by ones against Oklahoma and Ohio State. “Every single meet from here on out is going to be a very intense competi...
Illinois men’s gymnast Quiana given Big Ten honor
By Mike Gasick, Assistant sports editor
March 7, 2017
Filed under Gymnastics, Men's Sports, Sports
The Big Ten announced Wednesday that Illinois men's gymnast Sebastian Quiana is the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. The award follows Quiana's performance at the Puerto Rico Gymnastics Challenge last weekend. He earned the highest floor total out of all freshmen in the country this season, putting...
