Feb. 9, 2007

LAS VEGAS - After a tough qualifying round, Illinois gymnasts juniors Wes Haagensen and Tyler Yamauchi, and former Illini Adam Pummer are set to compete in the Winter Cup Challenge final on Saturday, Feb. 10. Based on the results and a points-ranking system, the top-42 gymnasts from the qualification round advanced to the finals. Scores from both days of competition count toward the final rankings for the all-around and individual events.

Haagensen led the way for the Orange and Blue receiving 65 points to qualify, followed by Pummer (59), who is competing for Team Gattaca, and Yamauchi, who rounded-out the Illini, receiving 43 points.

Under the new scoring system, Haagensen finished seventh in the all-around competition, recording 84.850. Haagensen's highest finish of the night (12th) came on high bar after he tallied a 14.600, finishing just after Pummer who tied for 10th. On parallel bars, Haagensen scored a 14.550, tying for 13th, and then took home a 16th-place finish on vault (15.540) and 18th on rings (14.550).

Yamauchi excelled on vault during the qualifying round, tying for seventh with a 15.700. On rings, Yamauchi tied for 12th, scoring a 14.750.

2006 Illini Pummer also experienced success during the qualifying round, taking home two top-10 finishes during the night. Pummer posted a 14.950 on parallel bars, finishing sixth, and ended the evening with a 14.600 on high bar, tying for 10th.

Stanford's David Sender is currently leading the all-around competition after recording 89.450 during the qualifying round. He enters the finals with a narrow lead over Alexander Artemev of Team Chevron and Sean Townsend of HGA/GymMasters, who finished second and third in the all-around with scores of 88.750 and 88.100, respectively.

Seven gymnasts will be added to the U.S. Men's Senior National Team following the Winter Cup Challenge. Three athletes will be added to the team based on the national team points system rank order, while the final four gymnasts will be selected from the Winter Cup Challenge participants and petitioned athletes by the Men's Program Committee. These seven, along with the seven members of the 2006 World Championships Team, who already qualified for the team, will comprise the Senior Men's National Team until the 2007 Visa Championships in August.

Complete results can be located at the USA Gymnastics website, www.usa-gymnastics.org. The Final Competition will be held on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., and can be watched via free Web cast at www.usa-gymnastics.org. A full recap of the Illini's performance can be found on fightingillini.com following the conclusion of competition.