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Gymnasts Shine at Mixed Pairs Exhibition
Dec. 8, 2006 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - In front of an enthusiastic crowd of over 1,000 fans, the Illinois men's and women's gymnastics teams opened their seasons with the annual Mixed Pairs Exhibition at Huff Hall tonight. The pair of senior Cara Pomeroy and junior Tyler Yamauchi finished first, carding a combined score of 29.800 to claim the title, while junior Michael Boyer, sophomores Kim Kruk and Nick Stango joined together to claim second with a 29.700. Rounding out the medalists were the teams of freshman Laura Woolf and freshman Luke Stannard and the pair of sophomores Ursula Orozco and Tyler Williamson tying for third with a score of 29.650. "It was a great turnout from the crowd for out first meet of the season," head men's gymnastics coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "Our guys had a good meet and this gives us an idea of where we are at. It also shows us where we have some rough spots and still need some work. Our freshmen, Luke (Stannard) and Brian (Liscovitz), did well for their first collegiate meet. Overall, it is good to see all the training that we are putting into practice showing up in the guy's routines." With the help of celebrity judges made up of Illinois student-athletes and students from Yankee Ridge Elementary, freshman Brian Liscovitz notched the night's only perfect 10 during his parallel bars routine. Orozco, Pomeroy, Williamson and Yamauchi each came close to feat, carding 9.950 on their respective routines. "It was a great opportunity for the newcomers to compete in front of a crowd for the first time and the veterans to return to their home gym," said head women's gymnastics coach Bob Starkell. "Some people were not even on their best event and still excelled, which is a great sign to our coaching staff. Tonight was a strong performance for Cara, and we are glad to see her in top form to start the season." With Pomeroy's title tonight with teammate Yamauchi, she claimed her fourth straight Mixed Pairs crown, while this is Yamauchi's first. The Illinois women's gymnastics team will return to action when they open the season on the road, traveling to Columbia, Mo., to face the University of Missouri on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m., while the men kick off 2007 with the Windy City Invitational in Chicago on Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. The teams open their home schedule with a co-ed meet, as the Illini women take on conference-foe Iowa, while the men take on defending Big Ten champion, Ohio State on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. Mixed Pairs Results in PDF Format
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