Men's Gymnastics

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Jan. 9, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois men's gymnastics team opens the 2008 season with one of the most competitive fields of the year at the 2008 Windy City Invitational, hosted by Illinois-Chicago at the UIC Physical Education Building on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. The Fighting Illini jump right into the heat of competition in their first event of the new year, as the field includes top-ranked Stanford as well as two-time defending Big Ten Champion and fourth-ranked Ohio State.

"Windy City is always a big meet to start off the season," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "However, when No. 1 Stanford joined the field, it made this weekend that much more competitive. Overall, our guys are excited about this weekend. We have been training hard and preparing as best we can. As a team, we are not 100 percent, but we will go to Chicago as ready as we can be to compete for the team title."

The rest of Windy City field includes host No. 13 UIC, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 8 Illinois and No. 9 Iowa. The 2008 Windy City Invitational will kickoff at 7 p.m. at the UIC Physical Education Building on Saturday. A full recap of the event will be available at www.fighitngillini.com, following the conclusion of the meet.

NEW SCORING SYSTEM IN 2008
Men's collegiate gymnastics has elected to adopt the International Gymnastics Federation's (FIG) "Code of Points" as its new scoring system, beginning in the 2008 season. Previously, the sport had been using a modified version during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, which still put a maximum value of 10 points on each routine. In the newly adopted system, a gymnast's final score will be the sum of his Difficulty and Executing Scores [Explained Below]. The scores for each routine will be open-ended, with most scores earning between 13-16 total points, depending upon the apparatus.

Difficulty Score
The Difficulty Score will award gymnasts points for the difficulty and technical content of a routine. Two judges on an A Panel will be responsible for crediting the athletes for connections (two high-level skills that are connected) and for completing element group requirements for an apparatus. The nine most difficult skills and the dismount will account for the Difficulty Score. All skills have a set value and are categorized into six groups, depending upon the difficulty aspects of the element. Connection values can be earned on floor, rings and high bar for an extra 0.100 or 0.200 points.

Execution Score
The Execution Score will be decided upon by two to four judges on a B Panel. Beginning with 10 points, deductions for errors, faults in execution and presentation will be made by all judges independently. The Execution Score will be computed by taking a varied average of the B Panel marks. The range of deductions will be from 0.100 points for a small error and 0.800 points for a fall.

2007 WINDY CITY RECAP
The then-No. 6 Illinois men's gymnastics team had a strong performance in front of almost 2,000 fans at the 37th Annual Windy City Invitational in Chicago on Jan. 13, finishing second for the second straight year with a score of 209.750. Wes Haagensen, who captured the all-around title with a score of 52.700, led the Fighting Illini effort. No. 8 Michigan took home the team title with a score of 212.750, while Illinois (209.750), No. 3 Ohio State (209.500), No. 9 Minnesota (205.650), No. 7 Iowa (198.400) and No. 11 UIC (196.150) round out the six-team field.

Haagensen added to his all-around title by grabbing the floor exercise title (9.350), tying for fourth on parallel bars (9.300), fifth on vault (8.650) and tied for eighth on pommel horse (8.550). In his collegiate debut, Chad Wiest made it a memorable one as he out-performed the competition on vault, finishing first among a loaded field with a score of 8.950. Wiest also tossed in a tied for seventh-place finish on the floor (9.150). Brian Liscovitz looked sharp in his first collegiate competition, carding ninth on parallel bars (9.100) and tying for eighth on high bar (8.700).

In other results, Tyler Yamauchi finished third on still rings with a score of 9.200, seventh on vault (8.600) and 10th on parallel bars (8.950). Chris Silcox made a solid debut on the season, tying for third on the floor exercise (9.200) and the high bar (9.050).

For the Illini on pommel horse, Chris Lung led the charge with a sixth-place performance (8.650). Jon Drollinger, who finished ninth on still rings (8.950), rounded out the Orange and Blue's top-10 performances.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
While the Illini have one of the best freshman classes in the country, it will be the senior leadership of the Orange and Blue that will be the foundation of bringing the Big Ten championship and a national title back to Champaign.

The seniors are quite possibly the most talented class in the nation, which includes floor, high bar and vault specialist Michael Boyer, high bar All-American Ross Bradley - who sat out last season with a shoulder injury - rings specialist Jon Drollinger, six-time All-American and reigning Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Wes Haagensen, 2007 high bar All-American Chris Silcox and three-time All-American and 2007 Big Ten Vault titlist Tyler Yamauchi.

On top of the classes above criteria, the contingent also brings with it a total of 11 All-American accolades and a combined two Big Ten event titles, three All-Big Ten selections, eight CGA All-America Scholar Athlete awards and eight Academic All-Big Ten selections.

YOUNGSTERS SHINE AT MIXED PAIRS EXHIBITION
The Illinois men and women's gymnastics squads teamed up to open their seasons with the annual Mixed Pairs Exhibition at Huff Hall on Dec. 7. Each pair of gymnasts performed their top events in front of more than 600 electric fans, combining four routines' scores to make up their team total. The pair of freshman Allison Buckley and sophomore Luke Stannard took home the title with a combined score of 49.875, while seniors Michelle McGrady and Tyler Yamauchi claimed second (49.250). Rounding out the top three were senior Krystal Melcarek and freshman Paul Ruggeri, tabbing a 48.850.

FRESHMEN MAKING WAVES
The Illinois freshman class is undoubtedly going to be a huge factor in the Illini's bid for a second national title under head coach Yoshi Hayasaki (First, 1989). The contingent includes one of the best classes to come through Illinois under Hayasaki's tenure and is made up of Nate Luketin (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park), Kyle Moe (Champaign, Ill./Champaign Central), Roger Pasek (Sleepy Hollow, Ill./Dundee-Crown), Daniel Ribeiro (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y./Northern Highlands Regional), Paul Ruggeri (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville Manlius) and Johnny Schell (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg).

"The freshmen came out and performed like we expected them to in front of a great crowd at the Mixed Pairs Exhibition," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "Paul had two great sets on high bar and floor exercise. Roger Pasek did a great job on floor and Daniel Ribeiro performed well on pommel horse. Overall, it was good to see our freshmen come out strong and put up scores that can count for our team."

FIGHTING ILLINI COACHING STAFF
The Illinois men's gymnastics team heads into the 2008 season with a highly talented freshmen class to go along with a core of senior leadership and All-Americans, making a recipe for an exciting and highly-anticipated season. More importantly, the talent and experience of the Fighting Illini coaching staff makes this group a national presence and contender come April.

Illinois enters the season with high expectations under the direction of head coach Yoshi Hayasaki, who enters his 31st year at the helm of the program, 2004 National Assistant Coach of the Year Jon Valdez, who is in his eighth year, and second-year assistant coach and Pan American Games gold medalist Justin Spring.

2008 RECRUITING CLASS
Head coach Yoshi Hayasaki of the Illinois men's gymnastics team announced the signing of Tyler Mizoguchi, C.J. Padera, Austin Phillips and Anthony Sacramento to National Letters of Intent to join the Fighting Illini in 2008. The class includes a slew of USA Junior National team experience and will be pivotal in helping Illinois reload after another large graduating senior class will depart the Orange and Blue after this season.

"I would rank this group of four signees as one of the top three recruiting classes in the country," Hayasaki said about the class. "Austin and Tyler are two of the top all-around gymnasts in the nation, who already have a wealth of junior national competition under their belts. Anthony is a top-level recruit, particularly strong on rings, and C.J. has the potential to mature into a great all-around gymnast for Illinois."

An all-around competitor, Mizoguchi will look to help Illinois fill the voids left by its loaded senior class. A top competitor on high bar and a great all-around gymnast, Mizoguchi is the reigning 2007 US Visa Men's Junior Champion on high bar, while also finishing third on parallel bars, fifth on pommel horse, eighth on floor and sixth in the all-around at the championships.

A four-year regional team member, Padera will join brother Kyle, who will be a senior on the Illini team next season. Continuing to add to a successful career that he has had in the state of Illinois, C.J. Padera is a six-time Junior Olympic National participant, placing fifth at 2006 nationals on high bar and 13th in the all-around in both 2006 and 2007. Padera also is a Level 10 (14-15 division) All-American on high bar.

Phillips is a two-time Region 7 all-around champion, four-time junior national competitor and the reigning titlist in Level 10 (16-18) on pommel horse, rings and in the all-around at the 2007 Pacific Coast Classic, one of the most prestigious and largest gymnastics competitions of the year. The future Illini also finished seventh as a 17-year old at USA Junior National Championships in the all-around and sixth on rings in the Level 10 16-18 division. Phillips also is a product of the same club that produced junior national champion (pommel horse) and current Illini freshman Daniel Ribeiro.

Rounding out the class, Sacramento is a three-time First Team Academic All-American and received the Certificate of Excellence award all four years of high school and is a gymnast for the prestigious Buffalo Groove, one of the top clubs in the country. Sacramento was the all-around champion at the 2006 Winter Cup & BlackJack National Men's Gymnastics Championships, placed sixth on rings in event finals at Junior Olympic Nationals in 2007, captured the crown on rings in the junior division at the 2007 Windy City Invitational and placed seventh on rings at the 2007 Junior Olympic Nationals. Sacramento's feat on rings at junior nationals came despite entering the event on crutches and not being able to perform a dismount. Before his 2007 performance, Sacramento was a national bronze medalist in the Level 10 (14-15 division) on rings as well.