Notes vs. Minnesota in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Jan. 18, 2007

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ­ - The No. 6 Illinois men's gymnastics team will hit the road for its Big Ten and season dual opener against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday, Jan. 20, in Minneapolis, Minn., at 7 p.m. The Illini are coming off a strong finish at the 37th Annual Windy City Invitational, carding a second-place finish behind the efforts of junior Wes Haagensen who captured the all-around title.

"Minnesota has always been a tough place to compete," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "We have to be mentally ready to compete. I know that they will put out their best to challenge Illinois."

This is the 210th meeting between the long-time Big Ten foes, with Illinois leading the rivalry 121-88.

A full recap of the Illini's performance can be found following the conclusion of the dual at www.fightingillini.com.

SETTING THE SCENE VS. MINNESOTA
The University of Minnesota hosts the Orange and Blue after a fourth-place finish at last week's 37th Annual Windy City Invitational on Jan. 13. This is both Big Ten squads first dual of the season, kicking off the year at the Sports Pavilion on the campus of the University of Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m.

Minnesota returns 12 letterwinners from last year, including 2006 All-Big Ten Team member Jacob Lee. This is the 210th time these two teams have competed against each other, with Illinois leading the matchup 121-88.

MINNESOTA'S LAST TIME OUT
At the 37th Annual Windy City Invitational, freshman Cole Storer took home the Golden Gophers highest individual event finish of the night, securing second on vault (8.850) behind Illinois freshman Chad Wiest. Kit Beikmann saw success as well, notching an 8.950 on pommel horse for third. Minnesota's preseason Nissen-Emery Award candidate, Jake Lee, also fared well, picking up a second-place all-around finish with a total of 51.750.

BRINGING THE 'PAIGN
In Illinois' opening event of the season, the Illini had 15 top-ten finishes at the 37th Annual Windy City Invitational, including three individual titles (Chad Wiest, vault; Wes Haagensen, floor exercise and all-around title). In addition, Illinois picked up the highest team total on vault (34.500) and tied Michigan for the floor exercise crown (36.550). Currently, Illinois ranks 6th in the preseason GymInfo poll, the third highest Big Ten team ranked, behind only Ohio State and Penn State. This time last year, the Illini were ranked No. 2 going into their meet with Minnesota.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The last dual meet between Minnesota and Illinois was on Jan. 21, 2006 in Champaign, Ill., where the Illini seized a 207.300- 201.650 victory over the Gophers. Wes Haagensen and Tyler Yamauchi each claimed event titles that night, Haagensen with an 8.450 finish on pommel horse and Yamauchi with a 9.300 on rings.

HAAGENSEN EARNS DUEL HONORS
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are set to host the 2007 Big Ten Gymnastics Championships on March 30-31. Held at the Sports Pavilion this year, six Big Ten teams will vie for the chance to claim the conference title.

Last year, Ohio State claimed its second consecutive Big Ten Men's Gymnastics title and its 11th in school history with a team total of 215.625. Illinois finished in second (214.8000), while Iowa (213.7) and Michigan (210.775), Penn State (210.250) and Minnesota (205.400) rounded out the field.

Haagensen earned the national spotlight after capturing the all-around title at the 37th Annual Windy City Invitational with a score of 52.700, leading the Illini to a second-place finish overall, ahead of three Big Ten teams. 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). Haagensen becomes the first Illinois gymnast to win the title since Leo Oka (1998-2001) took home the crown in 2001 with a score of 51.250.

FIERY FRESHMEN
The Orange and Blue saw two freshmen with top ten finishes at Windy City - Chad Wiest and Brian Liscovitz. Wiest, a Butler, Pa., native, picked up his first career event title on vault with an 8.950. Wiest also saw success on floor exercise with a seventh-place finish (9.150). Liscovitz notched two top-10 finishes at the meet, recording an 8.700 for eighth on high bar and a 9.100 on parallel bars, finishing ninth.