Men's Gymnastics

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Jan. 13, 2008

Complete Results

CHICAGO - The No. 8 Illinois men's gymnastics team used strong performances on vault, floor and rings tonight to secure their second straight runner-up finish at the 38th Annual Windy City Invite with a team score of 347.350. The Illini once again had stellar performances from the their youngsters to open the season, but it was the efforts of its veterans that proved to be the deciding factor in outshining No. 6 Michigan (third, 344.450), No. 4 Ohio State (fourth, 341.200) and No. 7 Minnesota (fifth, 340.350) in the final team standings.

"I was very pleased with our guy's performances tonight," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said after the meet. "We have a lot of things that we can still improve on. We had some good performances tonight, but to still be able to finish second to No. 1 Stanford after missing some of our routines is very encouraging for the season. From here, we want to build off today and work harder to get better as the season goes on."

Individually, the Illini tabbed a total of 14 top-10 finishes, including three event titles being taken home by an Illini gymnast. Chad Wiest, a 2007 All-American on floor exercise, tied for the title on floor with US Senior National Team member David Sender of Stanford with a 15.450. Wiest also charted a tied for eighth-place outing on parallel bars (14.300) and tied for 12th-place finish on vault (15.450). Senior co-captain Tyler Yamauchi took a tied for fifth-place finish on rings (14.550), tied for 10th on floor (14.900) and tied for 15th on vault (15.350) to speak well for the senior class.

Freshman Daniel Ribeiro debuted the season with a strong statement of his own on pommel horse, outperforming the competition by almost two points with his title on horse (15.250). One of Illinois' top performances overall on the night came from sophomore Luke Stannard. Stannard, who missed most of the season in 2007 due to injury, is looking to make the most out of every event in 2008, posting a third-place finish on pommel horse (14.550) and tied for 12th-place outing on vault (15.450).

Senior 2007 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Wes Haagensen started off the night a little rocky in his opening event of the year, but he rebounded to finished the evening like a champion with a title on parallel bars (15.000) and a tied for fifth-place outing on rings (14.550). Freshman standout Paul Ruggeri was Illinois' top finisher in the all-around, taking eighth. He also finished tied for sixth on vault (15.750) Other Illini highlights included senior co-captain Michael Boyer tabbing fourth on floor and senior Jon Drollinger finishing tied for eighth on rings (14.400).

As a team, the Illini's marks on floor (60.100), horse (55.800) and high bar (56.600) were the second-best scores of the night, while its marks on rings (56.800) and parallel bars (56.050) ranked third overall.

Overall, the top-ranked Stanford Cardinal took home the team title with a score of 354.450, while No. 13 UIC finished sixth with a 332.050 and No. 9-ranked Iowa took seventh with a 331.750 to round of the competition. The Cardinal's David Sender took home top honors in the all-around with a score of 89.600.

The Fighting Illini now return to gym when they take on the University of Minnesota at Huff Hall in their home and season dual opener next weekend. The Golden Gophers are set to come to Champaign, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 19, for a 7 p.m. affair. The Gophers are ranked No. 7 to open the season, while the Illini will take their second-place finish at the 38th Annual Windy City Invite and preseason No. 8-rankings into the contest.

WINDY CITY RECAP
High Bar
The Illini opened the night on high bar, one of the top events for the Orange and Blue in 2007. Sophomore Luke Stannard, coming off his first-place finish at the annual Mixed Pairs Exhibition in December, kicked off the night with a solid performance, carding a 13.750. Following Stannard, fellow sophomore Brian Liscovitz stepped up next for the Illini, hoping to keep his Windy City career success going as he charted two top-10 finishes here a year ago. His 2008 campaign would be no different, as he opened with a solid 13.600.

Junior All-American Chris Lung then kept the Illini faithful on their feet, as he stuck the first Illini landing of the night en route to a 14.300 on the apparatus. Lung then setup senior 2007 High Bar All-American Wes Haagensen, who continued to give the Illini something to cheer about, as he posted an even 14.000. However, the best set of the night would come from freshman Paul Ruggeri, whose combinations and release moves wowed not only the fans, but the judges as well, as he tabbed an Illini-high 14.400. Senior 2007 High Bar All-American Chris Silcox then rounded out the rotation with an action packed routine, finishing the event with a 13.900.

Floor Exercise
Rotating to their strongest event from a year ago, the Illini were looking to get heated up on floor. Stannard led off the rotation for Illinois again, as he made his first collegiate appearance on floor for Illinois of his career. His debut would not disappoint anyone, as he tossed in a 14.600 for the event to start things off. Senior 2007 All-American Tyler Yamauchi followed the sophomore in his first appearance of the night, opening his routine with a pair of crisp passes before sticking his final landing en route to a 14.900. Senior Michael Boyer continued to raise the bar for Illinois, as he new flawless routine earned the Orange and Blue gymnast a 15.150.

However from there, the Illini were shaky in their next two routines from Haagensen and Ruggeri, as season-opening jitters plagued the two competitors who suffered devastating falls. Yet, in Illinois fashion, the Orange and Blue bounced back to finish strong behind the efforts of sophomore 2007 Floor All-American Chad Wiest. Wiest, who finished third on the event at NCAA Individual finals in 2007, started off 2008 on a mission, putting together one of the night's best floor routines with his 15.450.

Pommel Horse
One of the weakest events for the Illini in 2007, the Orange and Blue entered today with a revitalized and reloaded lineup on pommel horse. Starting things off, Liscovitz charted a 12.950 followed by fellow youngster Ruggeri, who carded a 12.150. Haagensen tossed in a solid 12.350 to keep the Illini rolling before Lung sparked the Illini bench to their feet. His routine, which showed a number of combinations that kept onlookers impressed, earned Lung a 13.050.

For Illinois, its lineup was just getting started on horse as freshman Daniel Ribeiro then made his 2008 debut. Regarded as one of the top competitors on the event after earning the pommel horse title at the 2007 Junior National Championships, Ribeiro's signature 360-degree spin over the horse surely stood out as one of the hardest skills of the night. With a flawless set and one of the toughest routines in the country, Ribeiro proceeded to notch an Illinois-best, 15.250. As if Illinois fans could not get enough, Stannard finished off a strong pommel horse rotation for Illinois as he continued to have a phenomenal Windy City debut after scoring a 14.550.

Still Rings
Returning everyone from its 2007 lineup this season, the Illini looked to continue to build on still rings in their opening event of the year. Lung got things going on the apparatus, as he posted a 13.00 as Illinois' first competitor. Freshman Ruggeri continued to string together a strong debut event of his own, adding a 12.850.

From there, in stepped rings specialist senior Jon Drollinger, who finished ninth last season at Windy City and was looking to only better that performance in 2008. The senior made everything look easy, as he moved from skill to skill with ease before sticking his landing for a 14.400. Haagensen, who had been having a tough night of his own, returned to form like a champion, as he tied an Illini best for the night with his 4.550. A two-time All-American on rings himself, Yamauchi looked to put a stamp on the Illini's night on rings as he came into the night with one of the top routines in the country. As Illinois' last competitor in the rotation, Yamauchi remained poised throughout his routine, performing and nailing his skills with precision. Despite a stumble on the dismount, Yamauchi garnered a team-high 14.550.

Vault
Recovering well from its early woes on floor, the Illini headed to yet another one of their strongest events of 2007 and of the night, vault. Stannard, who had been having one of the best nights of any of the Illini, continued his performance on vault with a 15.450. From there, Wiest, who barely missed NCAA individual finals on the event in 2007, and youngster Ruggeri followed Stannard in the lineup. The two both collected solid scores off their vaults; Yurchanko double fulls, earning Wiest a 15.450 and Ruggeri a 15.750. With Illini fans chanting for more, one of the Big Ten's and countries' best in Yamauchi stepped up for Illinois as its final competitor.

Making a name for himself on vault a year ago as the 2007 Big Ten champion on the apparatus, Yamauchi performed his signature handspring double full, collecting him a 15.350 for the night.

Parallel Bars
Illinois finished the night on parallel bars, entering the final rotation chasing team-leading Stanford, and fending off third-pace Ohio State. Sitting in second as a team, sophomore Wiest started things off for the Illini, bringing the entire bench to its feet when he stuck his landing on his routine, garnering a 14.300 for the effort. Pressuring the Windy City field to overtake them, Lung tabbed a 13.100 followed by Liscovitz's 12.850.

With determination in his face, Ruggeri was next up for the Illini, as he connected on another a solid routine for his debut night, carding a 13.550. Proving that senior leadership was going to be the backbone of this season, co-captain Yamauchi and six-time All-American Haagensen finished off the rotation for Illinois, carding 13.200 and 15.000, respectively to put a stamp on a second-straight runner-up finish at the Windy City Invitational.