University of Illinois
Minnesota/Iowa
Illinois Wins Final Dual Meet Over Minnesota and Iowa
March 21, 2008 | Men's Gymnastics
March 21, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 6 Illinois men's gymnastics team made its first appearance tonight on the Big Ten Network and national television in style, with seniors Wes Haagensen (high bar, tied parallel bars, all-around) and Tyler Yamauchi (rings), sophomore Brian Liscovitz (tied parallel bars) and freshmen Daniel Ribeiro (pommel horse) and Roger Pasek (floor) all taking home individual titles in the effort. As a team, the Illini avenged their season-opening loss to Minnesota, as Illinois took first in the tri-meet in Minneapolis with a score of 353.950, finishing ahead of No. 8 Minnesota (351.500) and No. 9 Iowa (343.750).
"We had a bad start but really turned things around on parallel bars," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "Parallel bars and vault definitely were the turning points for us as a team. I think our team really showed all that we have been working on in practice on parallel bars. As for the team as a whole, I think that at this point in our season, winning is not enough. We have a lot to work on this week in the gym at cleaning up our routines and getting ready to compete for a Big Ten Championship in two weeks."
For those Illini fans who could not make it out to tonight's meet in Minneapolis, you can see the Tri-Meet victory for Illinois on tape delay on the Big Ten Network this coming Monday, March 24 at 8 p.m. CT, and then again on Wednesday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Check your local satellite and cable listings to see if you get the Big Ten Network, or visit www.bigtennetwork.com to find out how you can get the Big Ten Network today.
"If there is one big thing we can take away from this meet, it was the chance to be exposed to all the pressures that will come at us during competition," Hayasaki said about the meet being covered by the Big Ten Network. "It is great for men's gymnastics to be on national television, and great for our guys to experience cameras in their faces at a competition. That is something they usually don't get until NCAAs. They are finding out that it is not easy to step on to the floor and compete, and these guys have now been exposed to that pressure of producing your best gymnastics in front of a camera, which can only help prepare us for Big Tens and NCAAs."
In the meet, Illinois had the task of putting down Iowa for the third time this season, while the Orange and Blue looked to upset the home Golden Gophers on Senior Night at the Sports Pavilion. So the challenge was set and Illinois stuck to the game plan, as seven different Illini posted career-bests or tied one, Ribeiro posted a top-10 score in the country on pommel horse (15.500) and Fighting Illini gymnasts charted a total of 10 top-three finishes.
Individually, the Fighting Illini claimed titles in almost all six events, and even took home two out of the top three podium spots in three different events (parallel bars, high bar, still rings) to overpower a dual field for the third straight meet. In all, an Illini was in a top-three spot at the end of the night on every event. As a team, Illinois also won the team title on pommel horse (56.700), still rings (58.600), parallel bars (59.500) and high bar (57.000).
Top individual performances on the night included Pasek making sure his title on floor was no fluke against Illinois-Chicago a week ago, this time posting a career-best 15.550 in order to take home the crown tonight. The title is his third of the season - all on floor.
Yamauchi then reigned supreme on still rings, as he strung together an almost flawless routine to grab his fifth first-place finish on the rings in 2008. Haagensen followed with a second-place showing, tabbing a 14.600 to help Illinois sweep the top-two slots. The 2007 Big Ten vaulting champion, Yamauchi, also returned to vault for the first time in months, finishing third with a career-best 15.900 in just his third time competing in the event all year long.
The 2008 Nissen-Emery Award Finalist Haagensen tied his career-high of a 15.000 on p-bars to finish in a three-way tie for first for his second crown of the night. Liscovitz got in on the action on parallel bars as well, posting a career-best 15.000 to tie Haagensen and Minnesota's Sergei Dmitriev. Haagensen rounded out the night with his third individual crown in the all-around, finishing ahead of the Gophers Aaron Fortunato (86.850) and Iowa's Curtis Kleffman (85.600) with a score of 87.300. The 2007 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year also tied his season-high of a 15.800 on vault.
Finishing off the regular season in the only way he knows how, Ribeiro captured his seventh title of the year on pommel horse, carding a 15.500 - the second-highest mark for an Illinois gymnast behind his own 15.600. The mark also is the third-highest score by any gymnast in the country on the event, bringing Ribeiro's total to owning six of the top 10 marks in the nation in 2008.
Other notable superlatives included junior Chris Lung bringing a breath of fresh air for the Illini on pommel horse, as he tossed in a reminiscent performance of the determination that earned him All-America honors on the apparatus as a freshman, charting a career-high 14.400 to finish a close fourth. Lung then continued his career night setting a new high on high bar of a 14.350. Freshman Paul Ruggeri also finished second on high bar with a 14.550 behind fellow Illini Haagensen to round out the top-three finishes for UI.
Rounding out the evenings highlights were junior Tyler Williamson, who carded a career-high 15.450 on vault, while sophomore Andres Saavedra did the same with his 15.550 in the event.
Illinois now takes a week off before heading to the 2008 Big Ten Championships hosted by Penn State University at historic Rec Hall in University Park, Pa., on April 4-5. This year's edition of the championships features three-time defending Big Ten Champion Ohio State trying to defend its crown against the defending NCAA champion Nittany Lions, the hungry Fighting Illini - who have not won the crown since 2004 - Iowa, top-five ranked Michigan and Minnesota.
