Illinois freshman Travis Romagnoli won the vault with a score of 9.675 at the Big Ten individual gymnastics championships Sunday in Minneapolis.

Romagnoli, who also placed fourth in the high bar with a 9.5, fourth in the floor exercise at 9.5 and fifth in the parallel bars at 9.575, became the first UI freshman to win a Big Ten individual title since Dominick Minicucci did so in 1988.

"Travis performed like he has all year, just fantastic," Illinois coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "He competed with some of the top gymnasts in country and proved he belongs at that level. It won't be long before he is one of the elite."

Illini junior Yuval Ayalon was third in the high bar with a 9.75.

Ohio State's Blaine Wilson dominated the finals Sunday, winning 4 of the 6 events as well as being named the 1997 Big Ten gymnast of the year.

Wilson, a 1996 Olympian and defending NCAA all-around champion, won his third consecutive Big Ten all-around crown Saturday.

He also won the individual finals in the floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings and the horizontal bar.

In men's tennis: Illinois upset.

The 11th-ranked Illini fell to 2-2 in the Big Ten with a 4-3 loss to Michigan State at Atkins Tennis Center.

Illinois, 9-6 overall, swept the doubles competition, getting wins from Jerry Turek/Brady Blain, Cary Franklin/Oliver Freelove and Gavin Sontag/Jeff Laski.

But Sontag and Turek were the UI's only singles winners, the Spartans taking the other four matches.

In women's tennis: Illini fall to 7-7.

At Tampa, Fla., Susanne Land was the UI's only winner in an 8-1 loss to host South Florida.

Land, a senior playing No. 2 singles, beat the Bulls' Katherine Tessier 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to improve to 13-11.

The Illini will stay the week in Florida, playing Maryland Wednesday and Florida State Friday in Tallahassee.