Come Saturday afternoon, Huff Hall will sound like a zoo. It will also have a large blue spring floor in the middle of it.

To the left of the floor will be a set of parallel bars, a pommel horse, a set of rings and a high bar. To the right will be a set of uneven bars, a balance beam and a vault. The blue floor is a separation marker for the Illinois men’s gymnastics team and the Illinois women’s gymnastics team.

This weekend will be the one of two times both Illini gymnastics teams competes alongside each other at the annual Gym Jam. The mutual competitor is Big Ten rival Iowa. Having both teams competing at the same time can be a distraction, but it also doubles the energy in the gym.

“I think we are both crazy, energetic teams and we are just going to feed off of each other’s energy,” freshman Joey Peters said. “Plus, I think more people are going to come with the girls there, so it’s all positives.”

Injuries from the preseason set Illinois back to begin the season. However, the Illini have had three weeks off from competition, aside from the three men that competed at the Winter Cup Challenge. With the extensive time off, playing catch up is over.

“I think some schools, without looking further, have kind of counted us out,” Illinois head coach Justin Spring said. “We lost C.J. (Maestas), but maybe they didn’t know that we were injured in many other capacities with other guys. If we come back and put up a top score, we could open some eyes again.”

While senior Yoshi Mori and juniors Chad Mason and Jordan Valdez were away in Las Vegas last weekend, the rest of the Illini performed a simulation meet in preparation for this weekend. This put all the Illini back on the same page for competition.

“There was a lot of energy in the gym,” senior Austin Phillips said. “We had a lot of numbers with routines and team sets. We did a lot of polishing. I think the break was well needed and it was well used.”

As a freshman, this will be Peters’ first time competing in Huff Hall. He has been told stories of what competing in the facility is like, but he said he can’t wait to get out on the floor and find out himself.

“This is why I came here,” he said. “To compete at Huff Hall in front of a bunch of people. The guys said they will walk in on a random day because they have class at Huff and they will get goosebumps because they will think about what it’s like to compete in front of so many people.”

Spring said this meet will be a true testament to see where Illinois stands with the rest of the country’s men’s gymnastics teams. Though Illinois has competed against Iowa twice already this season, Spring said it is no advantage. The Illini will look to prove themselves in the mass chaos of Saturday night.

“I like that it’s dual co-ed against the same team,” Spring said. “It’s like an Illinois Iowa gymnastics showdown. Both are strong programs in the Big Ten. You are going to have Illinois fans and Iowa fans.

“We’ve got to rise to the occasion to show that we are the team that was ranked No. 1 at some point long ago.”

Gina can be reached at [email protected] and @muelle30.