No more talk about Midwest tennis teams being unable to compete with the nation's best. Illinois squashed that theory at Saturday's ITA National Indoors in Louisville, Ky.

Craig Tiley's team continued its run through the Top 25 with a 4-3 win over No. 4 Mississippi State. The Illini play top-ranked Stanford in today's final. It's the first time in the 25 years of the tournament a Big Ten team has made it that far.

"It's fantastic," Tiley said. "It's just a great position to be in. Everyone has the goal of winning it, but on the final day it's two teams left, and anything can happen."

So far in the tournament, everything has happened right for the Illini. They defeated No. 2 UCLA and 12th-ranked Pepperdine to reach Saturday's semifinals.

Illinois won the doubles competition against the Bulldogs. The UI teams of Gavin Sontag-Brady Blain and Jakub Tepley-Matt Snyder took their matches.

In men's gymnastics: Illini upset Spartans.

Sixth-ranked Illinois notched the second-best score in the nation to defeat No. 2 Michigan State 229.175-226.050 Saturday at Huff Hall.

"Tonight, we did all the things we're supposed to do," Illinois coach Yoshi Hayasaki said.

Illini All-American Travis Romagnoli set a school record with a 9.85 on the parallel bars.

In baseball: TCU wins again.

Texas Christian took its second game against Illinois, winning 5-3 at Fort Worth, Texas.

Illini starter Tim Lavery gave up all five runs, allowing seven hits and four walks.

In swimming: Illinois sixth.

In Bloomington, Ind., freshman Anna Christiansen set a school record in the 200 breaststroke, helping the Illini to a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.