Champaign, Ill. – The University of Illinois men's gymnastics team has announced that Daniel Ribeiro, the team's assistant coach for the past four seasons, will move into the role of the associate head coach effective immediately. Ribeiro has been a part of the Orange and Blue program for eight seasons now, dating back to his collegiate debut during the 2007-08 campaign.
"After putting my heart and commitment into the Illini program as an athlete and an assistant coach over the last eight years, it is an incredible honor to be promoted to the associate head coach of the University of Illinois Men's Gymnastics program," shared Ribeiro. "I'm excited to continue giving this program my all for years to come and I look forward to working with Justin in pursuit of conference and national championships!"
Ribeiro was dubbed the Regional and National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2012, his first season on the coaching scene, after helping the Fighting Illini to their first team national championship in over 20 years. While he's been an assistant coach, the program has seen five national champions, eight Big Ten champions, two Big Ten Gymnasts of the Year, two Big Ten Freshmen of the Year and a Nissen-Emery award winner.
"Daniel has brought a tremendous amount of energy and passion to making this program great over the last four years," Head Coach Justin Spring said. "He is an active member of the Collegiate Coaches Association (CGA), and continues his education as a certified judge for USA Gymnastics. He is an asset and we're lucky to have him."
The Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., native also served as the head coach of the gold medal winning Maccabi Games team in 2013. This past May, Ribeiro traveled with sophomore-to-be Tyson Bull to Australia, where Bull went on to win a pair of gold medals at the Australian Championships.
As an athlete, Ribeiro was a four-year letter winner and three-year team captain beginning his sophomore season. Ribeiro was a three-time Big Ten pommel horse champion and twice won the NCAA crown in the event. Ribeiro's success was not limited to the collegiate stage, however, as the three-time All-American captured pommel horse gold at the 2010 U.S. Visa Championships between his junior and senior seasons. He ranks 11th on the all-time titles list with 45 tallies (42 pommel horse, three vault) in addition to owning the most pommel horse titles in program history.
