No. 4 Huskers Hit the Road to Face Big Ten Foe No. 2 Illinois

Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team is traveling to Champaign, Ill. to face No. 2 Illinois in its first Big Ten Conference meet on Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. (CT). The meet is available to stream on B1G+.

Last Time Out
Nebraska competed at the Rocky Mountain Open and earned third place, behind Stanford and Oklahoma, with a score of 320.450. Taylor Christopulos earned his 23rd event title on high bar. Sophomore Alex Nitache placed second in the all-around. On floor exercise, Chase Mondi placed second and Nathan York placed third. Mondi also earned second place on vault. Senior Chris Hiser was third on still rings. 

Scouting the Competition 
Last weekend, The Fighting Illini competed at Oklahoma where they lost 330.700-325.500 to the Sooners. Illinois’ Brandon Dang earned the event title on pommel horse, Ian Sandoval tied for first on vault and former Husker Sam Phillips earned the all-around title with a 80.60. It was Phillips’ second straight event title. In 2024, Illinois hosted the Big Ten Conference Championship where the Illini placed second behind Michigan with a score of 413.750. 

Illinois leads the series, 34-29, against NU. Last season, Nebraska defeated Illinois 416.550-406.050.

Quick Notes 

• With Alex Nitache’s performance at the Rocky Mountain Open, the sophomore qualified for the Winter Cup. Nitache will join team captain Taylor Christopulos in Louisville, Kenn. on Feb. 21-23.  
• Christopulos placed first on high bar and has won a title on every event, including in the all-around. Christopulos is the first Husker since T.J. Schmidt (2006-2009) to earn 23 event titles. 
• At the Rocky Mountain Open, Nik Tarca made his collegiate debut and competed on pommel horse and scored a 12.35. 

Follow the Huskers
Fans can follow @HuskerMGym on Facebook, Instagram or X for live updates during the meet.