April 16, 2008

NCAA Championships Notes in PDF Format

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The No. 5 Illinois men's gymnastics team could not be more ready for the 2008 edition of the NCAA Championships, this year hosted by Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., April 17-19 at Maples Pavilion. The Illini are fresh off a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships, marking the second time in the last three years the Fighting Illini have tabbed second-place honors. The last time the Orange and Blue finished second in the Big Ten (2006), they came away just short of a national title behind Oklahoma. Illinois hopes to remedy that loss in 2008, but will have a mighty task ahead of them at this year's championships.

"Heading into the NCAA Championships, our senior class and our team as a whole is going in with the mindset that we can win it all," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "It is definitely going to be tough, but that goal begins on Thursday in our qualifying session. We have a tough group with No. 1 Stanford and No. 4 California in our session. However, if we hit out routines and do what we are supposed to do, we will advance into the Super Six on Friday night. From there, it is anyone's title to take. Stanford is going to be tough since they are competing at home. Oklahoma has already shown they can beat them this year, while Penn State is the Big Ten Champion. Right now, we are focusing on ourselves, on what we need to do to stay focused. If we take care of that, we will be right in the mix for the title."

Competition at the 2008 NCAA championships begins on Thursday, April 17 with two qualifying sessions, scheduled for 3 and 9 p.m. CT. Penn State, along with Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma and William & Mary will compete in Session I, while California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Stanford and Temple comprise the Session II field.

The top-three teams from each qualifier will then advance to contend for the national championship at 9 p.m. CT on Friday, April 18. The individual all-around champion also will be crowned that evening as well. The following night, Saturday, April 19, the individual event finals will be held at 9 p.m. CT, with six national titles and All-America honors at stake for the top-eight finishers.

A full recap of the event will be available following the conclusion of the Thursday night Qualifying Session II on the official home of Illinois men's gymnastics, fightingillini.com. Fans can follow the meet through live scoring by visiting the official championships web site at www.gostanford.com.

PREVIEWING THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The nation's elite men's gymnasts will converge upon Maples Pavilion on the host campus of Stanford University to vie for team and individual glory from April 17-19 at the 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Gymnastics Championships. Penn State is the defending champion after winning their NCAA leadings 12th title in 2007, but has a tough road ahead of it as it enters the championships as the third-ranked team.

Stanford, the No. 1 seed, is loaded with talent, led by U.S. National Team members David Sender and Sho Nakamori, and will have the advantage of competing in front of a home crowd.

Second-seeded Oklahoma, winner of four of the previous six national crowns, is headlined by the last two NCAA all-around champions in Jonathan Horton (2006) and Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons (2007). OU also boasts one of the nation's top freshmen, Steven Legendre. On top of that, the Sooners are coming off an upset of top-ranked Stanford in the MPSF Championships, winning their fourth-straight conference title in the process.

California, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio State also will challenge for the 2008 crown. In fact, the last time Illinois finished second in the Big Ten Championships in 2004 when they were led by Nissen-Emery Award winner and U.S. National Team member Justin Spring, the Illini finished runner-up at the national competition to Oklahoma, by the narrowest margin in NCAA history.

Cal's lineup features three-time national champion and senior Tim McNeill, while Illinois also is led by two standout freshmen, Daniel Ribeiro, who is the nation's No. 1 pommel horse performer, and Paul Ruggeri, who is ranked No. 1 on high bar. UI also can call upon the performances of its talented senior class, including All-Big Ten members Wes Haagensen and Tyler Yamauchi.

Michigan will be a factor thanks in part to all-arounder Thomas Kelley, the 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Ohio State has overcome a plague of injuries to make a postseason push and is motivated to excel by disappointing showings at each of the last two national championships, including failing to advance to the final six in the last two seasons despite being ranked No. 1 or 2 heading into the championships.

Penn State makes their bid behind the talents of Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Casey Sandy, two-time Big Ten rings champion Tommy Ramos and four-time All-American and Nissen-Emery Award finalist Derek Helsby.

CHAMPIONSHIPS TV COVERAGE
The team and all-around finals will be broadcast tape delayed on ESPN2 on Thursday, April 24 at 3 p.m. CT. The individual event finals portion of the championships will be aired tape delayed on CN8 (The Comcast Network) on Saturday, May 3 at 8:30 p.m. CT and Saturday, May 10 at 4 p.m. CT.

This is the fourth appearance for the Illini on national television after appearing on the Big Ten Network twice (Tri-Meet vs. Iowa/Minnesota, Big Ten Championships), on Fox Sports Net (Pacific Coast Classic) and now ESPN2 and CN8. In its regular season dual appearance against Iowa and Minnesota, Illinois outperformed the field in all three teams final dual of the regular season by placing first. It then backed up its television debut by taking runner-up honors at the conference championships, its highest finish since 2006.

NATIONAL TELEVISION HISTORY IN 2008
Illinois made its Big Ten Network debut in style in a tri-meet hosted in Minneapolis, pitting the Illini against Minnesota and Iowa. In the dual, UI took down its conference foes in front of a national television audience - the Illini also have appeared on Fox Sports Net at the Pacific Coast Classic. Overall, the Illini claimed a total of six individual titles, while an Illini was in the top-three on every event to make their debut on the BTN a success.

2008 Nissen-Emery Award finalist Wes Haagensen led the way, as he charted three first-pace finishes, placing in a three-way tie for first on parallel bars (15.000), winning the high bar (14.950) title out right, while he finished ahead of a crowded field in the all-around (87.300).

In its second BTN showing, the Illini posted their highest Big Ten finish in two years by taking runner-up honors, before Haagensen and freshman Daniel Ribeiro won individual titles on high bar and pommel horse, respectively.

Illinois hopes to carry its experience and success on national television into the NCAA Championships, where the cameras will not be a factor in distracting the Illini from the team goal and prize, a NCAA team title.

BIG TEN INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
Fresh off a runner-up performance last night, the No. 5 Illinois men's gymnastics team came out strong again behind the efforts of senior Wes Haagensen and freshman Daniel Ribeiro, who both battled to Big Ten event titles. Haagensen grabbed his crown on high bar with a 14.900 - his second conference title of his career - while Ribeiro wiped out the field by almost a point, scoring a career-high 15.700 on pommel horse to claim his first Big Ten event title of his career.

Both Haagensen and Ribeiro earned first team All-Big Ten honors for their performances tonight, marking Haagensen's second conference laurel of his career, Ribeiro's first. Second team honors for the Illini were handed to freshman Paul Ruggeri and senior Tyler Yamauchi, who both tabbed second-place finishes on the night in their respective events. The 2008 Nissen-Emery Award finalist, Haagensen, also became the first Big Ten champion on high bar for Illinois since Travis Romagnoli captured top honors in 1998. Haagensen also finished third on floor exercise with a 15.200.

For Ribeiro - the top-ranked gymnast on pommel horse coming into the championships - he wowed the field, beating the second-place finisher (14.900) by almost a point with his career-best 15.700. The mark is just .050 off the highest score by a gymnast on the event this season. The Illini youngster also became the first freshman Illini Big Ten champion since Romagnoli grabbed the crown on vault as a freshman in 1997 - he later became a Nissen-Emery Award finalist in 2000. He is the first champion on horse since Ben Newman grabbed three straight from 2003-05. Ribeiro also was named Illinois Sportsmanship Award winner for 2008.

SENIOR SIGN OFF
This year's senior class of Michael Boyer, Ross Bradley, Jon Drollinger, Wes Haagensen, Chris Silcox and Tyler Yamauchi came into the season with high expectations on themselves and this year's Fighting Illini team as a whole. However, injuries sidelined four of the six in the early goings of the 2008 campaign, making the senior's final season a bit rocky at times.

However, despite all of the obstacles, the class has still managed to be a foundation for the team the entire season.

In Illinois first seven meets of the year, the senior class accumulated a total of 18 top-three finishes and four individual titles. However, in UI's last five competitions that featured the contingent returning to a healthy status and to top form, the veteran crew has combined for 30 top-three finishes and 12 individual titles, including the Big Ten high bar crown (Haagensen). They also helped Illinois tab season-bests on pommel horse (58.200 - Michigan, UIC) twice, still rings (60.950 - Big Ten Championships), parallel bars (59.550 - UIC) and its team score (357.300 - Big Ten Championships) in the process.

It will definitely be the resurgence of the 2008 seniors that will be the deciding factor and stimulus for this year's chances at a NCAA title.