LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 7 Illinois secured a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships in Lincoln, Neb., on Friday night from Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The Fighting Illini scored a 316.700, finishing ahead of No. 5 Ohio State (314.800) and No. 6 Penn State (310.850) but were bested by No. 2 Michigan (323.500) and No. 4 Nebraska (320.700).
Based on their performances on Friday, Hasan Aydogdu, Tate Costa, Brandon Dang, Logan Myers, Preston Ngai, Sam Phillips, and Garrett Schooley all advanced to Saturday’s individual event finals.
After the Illini registered a 51.000 on rings on their first rotation of the day, they responded with a season-high score on vault. The Orange and Blue posted a 55.200 on the apparatus, led by Schooley, whose 14.300 tied for the highest tally during the meet and marked his eighth straight score of 14 or better on vault. Ngai’s 13.950 was the Illini’s second-best score on the event and was good enough to earn a spot in Saturday’s final.
On parallel bars, Illinois recorded a score of 52.800, with Phillips’ sixth-place finish (13.500) and Costa’s eighth-place mark of 13.450 helping the pair advance to the finals.
With the Illini in third after three rotations, the Orange and Blue logged a 52.950 on horizontal bar. Aydogdu led off with a team-best 13.800, good for fourth place and a spot in Saturday’s final, while Phillips also progressed with his 13.550.
The fifth rotation on floor saw the Illini tally a 52.300, with Costa’s 13.400 and Schooley’s 13.200 earning them places in the final on the apparatus.
Ending the night on pommel horse, Illinois scored a 52.450, highlighted by Ngai’s 14.200, which was the second-highest score in the meet and marked his fourth 14+ on the event this season. Dang joined Ngai in the final via his 13.900, good for fourth place among all teams.
In the all-around competition, Schooley scored a combined 76.250, which saw him finish fifth.
UP NEXT
The Illini’s individual qualifiers who advanced to the event finals will compete on Saturday starting at 7 p.m. CT.
