The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team, ranked fourth in the Big Ten, is ready for another chance to face Big Ten opponent Illinois, ranked second in the Big Ten.OSU takes on Illinois Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Larkins Hall. The Buckeyes have a record of 14-0 in dual meets over the last two years.”This will be a close and exciting meet,” head coach Miles Avery said. “We have a lot of pride in OSU gymnastics and it is hard not to go in and win.” Last weekend at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago, OSU placed third out of seven teams at their first meet of the season with a team score of 222.85. Illinois beat OSU by less than one point with a team score of 223.80.”It was encouraging to see Ohio State compete so closely with Iowa and Illinois, who both have the potential to win the NCAA regionals and rank nationally,” Avery said.Other teams present at the invitational were Iowa, who placed first, Michigan, who placed fourth, University of Illinois-Chicago, who placed fifth, Michigan State, who placed sixth, and Minnesota, who placed seventh.Ohio State’s Doug Stibel, a junior from Canton, Mich., finished third in the all-around competition with a score of 56. Stibel also tied with Jon Corbitt of Illinois for third place on the horizontal bar with a score of 9.7.Other Buckeye champions include Jamie Natalie, a freshman from Hockessin, Del., who finished second on the pommel horse, notching a score of 9.7. Timothy Elsner, a junior from Middletown, N.J., placed third on the pommel horse with a score of 9.65, and Peter Landry, a junior from Lewiston, Maine, placed second on the still rings, posting a score of 9.45.”Doug Stibel and Jamie Natalie are rising to the occasion,” Avery said. “Natalie was the top high school prospect and looks to be the best freshman in the Big Ten this year.”OSU won the Big Ten last year, the NCAA Eastern Regionals and placed 4th at the NCAA championships. The Buckeyes are returning six out of 12 letter winners from last years team and also has four new freshman.”I think this might be a rebuilding year,” Avery said. “It is hard to replace national champions such as Blaine Wilson and Drew Durbin.”