The No. 7 Illinois men’s gymnastic team defeated No. 5 Ohio State with a photo finish.

The Illini had to wait for the results to be tallied after a neck and neck competition.

Illinois came away victorious against the Buckeyes 438.600-438.000. Senior Vince Smurro said the energy before the meet was different than any other meet.

“The energy was way different than previous meets this season,” Smurro said. “I think mainly due to the fact of the work we have been putting into the gym, which makes our confidence levels way different, which then makes the energy way higher. Our expectations as a team were way higher.”

The Illini started off the night on the pommel horse, hitting all six routines. Senior Yoshi Mori tied for third with a 14.8. The second event the Illini competed on was the floor. Smurro scored a 15.9 earning a career-high and tying Illinois’ record for the third-highest floor score. Smurro also earned his first-ever title as an Illini on the event. The team set a new season-high score of 74.350.

“I think everyone can agree that that was one of his best sets,” Mori said. “With the new system this year, if you stick your dismount, if it’s a D value, then you get two tenths bonus. He did that, and that is what really boosted his score. Overall it was an incredible set and he stuck almost every pass.”

After having a few missed routines on the floor exercise and the vault, Illinois moved to one of the most consistent events — rings. The Illini also scored a season-high on this event with a 76.000. Sophomore Mike Wilner tied the second-highest rings score in Illinois history scoring a 15.8. He also captured his third rings title.

“It’s very easy to be consistent on rings, but to be consistent at the level Mike has been this year is incredible,” Illinois head coach Justin Spring said. “You can’t deny his work ethic and his commitment to never stop pushing himself. With the loss of C.J. (Maestas, who was injured before the season began), reigning national champion on rings, we needed some guys to step up and Mike has done just that.”

Illinois closed out the meet with two solid events — the high bar and the parallel bars. The Illini improved its season high by almost two points with a 73.350. Freshman Joey Peters took second on the high bar with a 15.150. This score also marked a team high for this season. Peters was the only Illini to compete in the all-around, scoring a career-high 85.850. This marks Illinois’ highest all-around mark of the season.

The success from this meet will provide a confidence boost as the Illini prepare to compete against No. 1 Penn State at Huff Hall this upcoming weekend.

“I don’t want to break out the confetti yet,” Spring said. “This is what I expected from them. They did well, they didn’t do great. We still have a lot of work to do and a lot of improvements to make. We have a very unforgiving format ahead of us, and we need to be ready for it. This is great momentum and a great change of pace, but we are better than what we showed this weekend.”

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