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Fighting Illini Punch Ticket Into Super Six With Season High 359.300
April 18, 2008
NCAAs Day One: April 14
2008 NCAA Championships Session II Final Results in PDF Format
STANFORD, Calif. - The Fighting Illini join No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Penn State and No. 6 Michigan, who advanced from the morning session, and No. 1 Stanford (363.850) and No. 4 California (357.100), who advanced from the evening session, in the NCAA Team Finals Friday night, April 18, at 9 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. PT, at Maples Pavilion. Illinois has now advanced to the finals for the sixth straight year, becoming only the second school to accomplish that feat - the Sooners being the second - and is looking to extend its five straight top-five finishes in the championships with another outstanding performance tomorrow. What was even more impressive than advancing into the Super Six was Illinois score in doing so. The season high for the Illini also was the second-highest score of the day in front of No. 2 Oklahoma (357.500) and No. 3 Penn State (357.300). During Illinois' streak of six straight finals appearances, they finished fifth twice (2003, 2007), third (2004) and second in both 2005 and 2006. "We had just a great team effort tonight," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "This is what we have been training for all season long. It just seemed that we came together tonight to produce our best meet of the season. We put up our highest score even with having some mishaps on floor and high bar. Overall, this was a great meet for us, but we know that we have more to do with the team finals tomorrow." Illinois' triumph over some of the top teams in the country today was spurred by setting four season bests, including its overall team score that was two-points better than its previous high of a 357.300 - which they set two weeks ago at Big Ten Championships. The other bests included a 63.550 on vault to start off today's meet, a 58.600 on high bar and a 58.900 on pommel horse. It's mark of a 59.650 on rings and 59.050 on parallel bars were both the third-best tallies on those specific apparatus in 2008 to boot. As a team, Illinois took the title on pommel horse (58.900) and p-bars (59.050), while placing second on floor exercise (59.550), vault (63.550) and high bar (58.600). Those finishes also ring true for the entire day, as the second session proved to be more competitive, posting the top scores for the day all-around. The Fighting Illini, individually, had one of their best performances amidst some the best gymnasts in the country, with eight different Illini setting a total of 12 career-bests or tying one. On top of that, the Illini charted nine top-five finishes on the night. Those performances included a first-place finish by Daniel Ribeiro, who tied the highest score of the season by any gymnast on pommel horse of a 15.700. Other bests were freshman Roger Pasek on floor placing fourth (15.250), sophomore Luke Stannard tabbing third on pommel (15.050), senior Tyler Yamauchi with a tied for fourth-place honor on rings (15.550) and tied for third-place finish on vault (16.100), sophomore Brian Liscovitz taking fourth on parallel bars (15.000) and senior Wes Haagensen coming in second on high bar (15.050) followed by freshman Paul Ruggeri in a tie for third (14.900). Illinois now returns to Maples Pavilion tomorrow night to compete for the 2008 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships at 9 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. PT, at which time the team and all-around titlist will be crowned. The top-10 placers on each of the six events from the team finals also will qualify for the NCAA Individual Event Finals, with those six titles being awarded on Saturday night, April 19, at 9 p.m. CT as well. Live scoring for the event will be available at the official web site of the championships at www.gostanford.com, with a full recap of the event available on the official home of Illinois men's gymnastics at www.fightingillini.com. The NCAA Championships also is another step for gymnasts looking to compete at the 2008 Olympics, as 12 athletes will be invited to Visa Championships this summer to try and vie for a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team, a 15-member squad from which the Olympic team is chosen from. SESSION RECAP BY EVENT On another note, Illinois tied No. 1-ranked vault competitor Oklahoma for the second highest team score on the event for the entire day. Heading into the championships, the Fighting Illini were ranked fifth, however, as the Illini have shown in the past, rankings mean nothing when you put the scores to the test in competition. Parallel Bars High Bar For the third straight rotation, the Illini (181.200) found themselves at the top of the leader board, leading the top-rated Cardinal (180.500), with just three more rotations to go. Floor Exercise Then another freshman sensation for the Illini appeared in his first NCAA competition, as Pasek has come into his own on floor throughout the season, and came through again tonight. With his 15.250, he posted the Illini's top score of the night. Haagensen and Ruggeri rounded out the rotation for Illinois. Now, Illinois (240.750) headed to its bye rotation after holding the lead for the fourth straight time, bettering then second-place Temple (226.500) by almost 15 team points, with top-rated Stanford falling out of the running for just a rotation, as they sat out during the fourth rotation for their turn at a bye. Pommel Horse With the heart of the Illini lineup still to come, Liscovitz bounced back from a rough high bar routine to go a career-best 13.700 on pommel, followed Stannard, who collected his best score of his young career, a 15.050, to take third in the large field. Then, with the nation's No. 1 gymnast still waiting for his time to shine, Ribeiro again wowed his competitors and the crowd with his action-packed routine. The set did not disappoint anyone, including the judges, as he tabulated the highest score of the night and the day with his 15.700, tying his career-high. The feat put Illinois securely in second-place after five rotations, trailing Stanford by less than a point in the overall standings. Still Rings With a watered-down lineup, Illinois ended on a high note, as Lung was awarded a season high 13.800, while junior Tyler Williamson followed with a season-high of his own, a 14.900. With two more competitors to go, senior Jon Drollinger stepped up to the challenge as he recorded a 15.400, just .100 off his career high, while Yamauchi put a stamp on the evening with his 15.550 to finish the competition. Yamauchi also finished tied for fourth on rings. SESSION I FINAL TEAM STANDINGS SESSION II FINAL TEAM STANDINGS * Advanced to team finals on Friday, April 18 at 9 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. PT. ILLINI TEAM RESULTS BY EVENT SESSION II - Finished Second ! Vault = (63.550) KEY: ILLINI INDIVIDUAL RESULTS BY EVENT Vault Parallel Bars High Bar Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings KEY:
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