Men's Gymnastics

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Sept. 24, 2007

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - 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. The Illini program, which in the last five years has finished in the top five at nationals, including a second-place outing in 2006, is looking to take it one step farther this season.

"This is quite possibly one of the most talented group of freshmen, as a whole and at this point in their careers, that I have ever coached here at Illinois," Hayasaki said about the 2008 recruiting class. "Heading into this year, it was imperative for us to go out and get a talented group of freshmen to complement this strong senior class, and we did. From here, we don't know how much the freshmen will make the lineup, but it is for sure that they are going to make an impact."

The Illini squad enters the season with high expectations under the direction of 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.

The coaching staff will lead one of the nation's most highly-touted freshman signing classes that includes Nate Luketin (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park), kyle Moe (Champaign, Ill./Central), Roger Pasek (Sleepy Hollow, Ill./Dundee-Crown), Daniel Ribeiro (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y./Northern Highlands), Paul Ruggeri (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville Manlius) and Johnny Schell (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg).

"It is definitely exciting to be a part of this Illinois team," Ruggeri said. "The whole freshman group has a lot of talent, and when you combine all of us together, we are looking at just adding that to an already solid team here at Illinois. In terms of what this group is looking to do this year, we just want to contribute as much as possible. Official practices just started last week, so I can already tell that they are a lot more intense than I am used to. But most importantly, right now, we are just focused on getting better at our skills and keeping healthy heading into the rest of the year."

The young group will then complement quite possibly the most talented senior class in the nation. That group includes 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.

"We have not all gotten together as a group and said it out loud, but it's one of those things that we all have in the back of our minds as a senior class that this is the final year we have to go get a national title," Silcox said. "This year, it is going to be very competitive within the team to get in the lineup as well. It is going to be stiff competition with all the talent we have for sure, but I like that. It is going to make us better. But as a team, we know our goals are to remain healthy and just be able to peak at the right time to contend for a Big Ten and NCAA title at the end of the year."

Sophomore Chad Wiest, who earned his first All-American accolade on floor last season with at tied for third-place performance, notes that the feeling heading into his second season for the Orange and Blue already has an air of excitement during the first week of official practices.

"I am really excited about this season," Wiest said. "We are heading into this year a lot better than we were last year. We didn't lose anyone from the roster and have a lot of great freshmen to add to that. So the talent is there to do really well this season and the whole team has a lot of high expectations for the upcoming year."

With a senior class that has combined for a total of 11 All-American honors between them leading this title-hungry squad, Hayasaki is definitely looking for great things from his 2008 Fighting Illini.

"We are going into this season like we have every other season, to contend for a Big Ten and NCAA title," Hayasaki said. "This senior class has been hungry for that since they were recruited here as freshmen, and they know this is their last year to do it. We have great leadership from our seniors and then talented freshman that will only contribute to that goal as well. I am eager to see how much the freshmen will impact the lineup. This year we are going out to continue the excellence that Illinois has had over the past five years and be in the mix to contend for titles."