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Jan. 10, 2007

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ­ - The Illinois men's gymnastics team will open the season at the Windy City Invitational on Jan. 13 in Chicago. The 37th annual Windy City Invite, hosted by Illinois-Chicago, pits six of the nation's best teams into one event, with the field including five Big Ten squads. For the Illini, the opening event will prove to be a good test for its returning All-Americans and freshman class as they open competition at 7 p.m. at the UIC Physical Education Building.

"This meet has always been very competitive with having five big ten teams competing," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "The competition gives us an opportunity to see how we are among the Big Ten and test out our young talents at the same time."

In last year's competition, the Illini came in second with a score of 210.500, just behind Ohio State (211.650). Junior Wes Haagensen led the charge for the Orange and Blue a year ago, taking home an individual title with a score of 9.400 on vault. Junior Tyler Yamauchi also will be looking to improve on his third-place finish on rings and pommel horse last season, as he and Haagensen are the only returning placers from last season's runner-up squad.

THIS YEAR'S WINDY CITY FIELD
This year's field is looking a lot like a Big Ten warm-up, as Illinois-Chicago is the only non-Big Ten competitor in the 2007 field. No. 6 Illinois will have its hands full as it takes on No. 3 Ohio State, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Minnesota and No. 11 Illinois-Chicago.

MIXED PAIRS A SUCCESS
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 on Dec. 18. 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.

WINDY CITY HISTORY
The Illini will be looking for their third title at the Windy City Invite this weekend, having previously won the crown in 1988 and 2005. The Windy City Invitational first ran in 1971, with Southern Illinois claiming the event title. Ohio State has won the most team titles in the history of the competition with 10, including entering this weekend as the defending champions. Illinois has competed in the event in every year of its existence.

BIG TEN PRESEASON HONORS
Juniors Wes Haagensen and Tyler Yamauchi were tabbed preseason All-Big Ten selections as picked by the conference coaches, the conference office announced on Tuesday, Dec. 19. The Illinois men's gymnastics team also was picked to finish fourth by the coaches, while 2007 NCAA Championships host Penn State was chosen as the preseason league favorite. Ohio State, the reigning Big Ten champion, was picked second, followed by Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa who rounded out the list.

Illinois grabbed the ranking after finishing runner-up at Big Tens last season, falling just short of its 10th national title, placing second behind Oklahoma at the 2006 NCAA Championships. The Illini, ranked sixth nationally this season, are looking once again to be a national contender behind the efforts of Haagensen and Yamauchi, as well as fellow All-Americans Ross Bradley and Chris Lung. In 2006, Bradley took eighth on high bar, Haagensen finished third on parallel bars, fourth in all-around and fifth on floor exercise, while Lung grabbed fifth place on pommel horse and Yamauchi posted an eighth-place finish on rings at the NCAA Championships.

The Nittany Lions garnered the top spot after finishing fourth at NCAAs in 2006, and are ranked No. 5 in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches poll. PSU returns 12 competitors, including All-American juniors Derek Helsby, Tommy Ramos and Santiago Lopez. Helsby, along with sophomore Casey Sandy were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team for the 2007 season.