Fletcher, Stephens return to practice after lasting knee injuries
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
October 8, 2020
Juniors Michael Fletcher and Clay Mason Stephens are once again practicing in Kenney Gym after the pair redshirted the 2020 season due to ACL reconstruction surgeries. Over the last 19 months, the two of them combined for three ACL reconstructions and have spent the majority of that time recovering from t...
Illinois joins nationwide effort to save athletic programs
September 17, 2020
In a span of just three weeks, the Universities of Iowa and Minnesota and the College of William & Mary announced the discontinuation of their men’s gymnastics programs, among other sports, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing multi-million-dollar revenue shortfalls, the universities will field thei...
Men’s gymnastics begins fall practices
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
September 14, 2020
The Illinois men’s gymnastics team restarted team practices in Kenney Gym on Aug. 31. This marks the first time since March the gymnasts not only practiced together but even used their Urbana training and practice facility. Under normal circumstances, the team would have remained on campus throughout ...
Team of the century: 2012 men’s gymnastics team ends championship drought
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
June 12, 2020
The Illinois men’s gymnastics team achieved its greatest success of the 21st century in 2012, when the team won the NCAA men’s gymnastics championship. It was the team’s tenth national championship in program history and its first since 1989, ending a 23-year team championship drought. In addition,...
Edwards, Paradise receive Big Ten Medals of Honor
By Claire O'Brien, Staff Writer
May 16, 2020
Illinois announced Taylor Edwards, senior in AHS, and Michael Paradise, senior in Engineering, as the recipients of the Big Ten Medal of Honor on Wednesday via Twitter. Each year, the University honors one male and one female senior athlete with the award. Edwards played four seasons of softball and ...
Illini celebrate eighth anniversary of National Championship
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
April 20, 2020
Today is the eighth anniversary of the Illinois men’s gymnastics team’s most recent national championship. On April 20, 2012, in Norman, Oklahoma, third-year head coach Justin Spring led the Illini to the 10th national championship in program history, the program's first since 1989. The gymnast...
Five Illini receive All-American accolades
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
April 13, 2020
On March 21, the College Gymnastics Association announced the names of 39 male collegiate gymnasts who received a total of 50 All-American accolades in six events (everything but all-around) for the shortened 2020 season. Five Illini were among those 39 gymnasts: senior Sebastian Quiana and freshman...
Illini of the season: Carter, McCool shine among talented roster
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
April 5, 2020
The Illinois men’s gymnastics team had only two regular-season competitions left in its 2020 season and was starting to look forward to the postseason. The team had accumulated an 8-3-1 record, including a perfect 5-0-0 record at Huff Hall, and notched wins over ranked Big Ten foes Michigan, Nebraska and...
Stephens gets second chance at Olympics
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
March 27, 2020
Sophomore gymnast Clay Stephens has dreamed of representing his native Australia in the Olympics since he was five years old. This year, Stephens finally had a chance to fulfill that dream by qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but his hopes seemingly ended on Feb. 20 when he suffered ...
Illini road to success comes to a close
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
March 17, 2020
The Illinois men’s gymnastics team left Champaign last Wednesday for San Juan, Puerto Rico for what was supposed to be a special trip, but an otherwise routine competition. The competition never happened. It was canceled, along with every remaining competition the team had scheduled, due to the ong...
Illini to compete in Puerto Rico
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
March 12, 2020
The Illinois men’s gymnastics team usually travels to its competitions via charter bus, but on Wednesday, the team had to fly to the location of its next competition: San Juan, Puerto Rico. The team was awake at 5 a.m. on Wednesday to catch a bus to Chicago, where the Illini boarded a plane bound ...
Illinois defeats Michigan, Penn State on Senior Day
By Bradley Zimmerman, Staff Writer
March 9, 2020
The No. 5-ranked Illinois men’s gymnastics team faced two tough opponents on Saturday when it hosted No. 2 Michigan and No. 8 Penn State at Huff Hall for Senior Day. Michigan and Penn State are two of the best teams in the Big Ten; Michigan entered Huff Hall undefeated, and Penn State had...
