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March 24, 2006

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The fourth-ranked Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team was determined to win the Big Ten Championship team title for the first time since 2004, but injuries kept Adam Pummer out of the lineup and Tyler Yamauchi was limited and the result was the Orange and Blue's second consecutive second place finish to Ohio State at Carver Hawkeye Arena on Friday night. The Buckeye's posted a 215.625 to edge the Illini's 214.800. Iowa finished third (213.750) followed by Michigan (210.775), Penn State (210.250) and Minnesota (205.500). Illinois did however provide a one-two punch as senior Justin Spring and sophomore Wes Haagensen finished first and second in the all-around, respectively. Five Illini finished in the top eight in their respective events to qualify for a total of 13 events in tomorrow's event finals at 7 p.m.

"When we lost Adam for the competition and then Tyler on some of the events I thought it was going to be a very close battle, but I knew we could still compete against Ohio State and any Big Ten team. Everybody dealt with the adversity and battled. We had a great effort from everybody and we nearly won it all. I feel sick to my stomach to tell you the truth. There is no question we could have been champions with the services of Adam and Tyler at full strength. But that's the way it goes. However, it was great to see Justin Spring win the all-around and Wesley Haagensen take second. That is certainly a tribute to their hard work and I am very proud of them."

The Fighting Illini were without the services of senior co-captain Adam Pummer who scratched from the lineup due to an injury sustained during practice earlier in the week. Pummer held team season-highs on all-around (54.450) and high bar (9.750) and lead the team this year with 12 event titles. In addition, sophomore Tyler Yamauchi injured his ankle during practice earlier in the week and was limited to just three (PH, SR, PB) of his usual five events (FX, PH, SR, VT, PB). Depsite the depleted lineup, the Orange and Blue were determined to keep their eyes on the prize.

The Illini started their first rotation on parallel bars and nearly bested their NCAA leading three score average (36.083) with a 36.050, which put them in second place. After the second rotation the Illini remained in second place with a 35.950 on high bar. The Orange and Blue fell short of their NCAA leading floor exercise average, but their 35.200 was good enough to vault the Illini into first place ahead of Ohio State after three rotations. The team has struggled on pommel horse all season and a few mistakes proved costly as the team recorded a 33.850 and fell to fourth place in the team standings. The Illini began their ascent back up the standings posting their second best ring score of the season (36.300) to move into third place with one final rotation remaining. Trailing Ohio State and Michigan, the Illini needed a high score on vault, but their season-high 37.450 wasn't enough to take the lead.

Nissen-Emery finalist Justin Spring led the way for the Illini individually. The seven-time All-American was in the Illini's all-around lineup for the first time since taking second place at last years Big Ten Championships. The Burke, Va., native did not disappoint, posting a 54.150 to become the Illini's first Big Ten all-around Champion since Dominic Minicucci did it in 1988. The two-time NCAA champion also led the Orange and Blue on a number of events. Spring, who ranks first in the nation on parallel bars recorded a 9.550 to post the highest score of the day and qualify for the event finals tomorrow. Spring also led the field on floor exercise, posting a team and personal season-high 9.600 and then notched a competition high 9.600 on vault with Haagensen.

"I got second two years in a row and I thought it was going to happen again," Spring said. "All-around comes second to the team meet though, I'm just in the zone with the team standings and I'm not thinking about the all-around. Luckily I hit five events and in the end it worked out. That was really exciting but a little bittersweet to not win the team championship."

Sophomore Wes Haagensen joined Spring on the podium after finishing in second place in the all-around standings. The former Big Ten Freshman of the Year set a season-high on high bar (9.450), tying him with Springfor the second highest score and qualifying for the event finals. Haagensen notched an 8.950 on parallel bars and a 8.900 on rings to qualify for a total of four events for the tomorrows finals.

Many other Illini were instrumental in the Orange and Blue's charge for the title. Senior Ted Brown swung his way to an 8.950 on pommel horse which was the third best score of the night and qualifies him for the event finals where he will try and defend his 2005 title. Freshman Chris Lung stepped up for the Illini in the pommel horse lineup too, scoring an 8.600 to advance as well. Sophomore Tyler Yamauchi made an impact in the Illinois rings lineup, posting a 9.350 and an 8.900 on parallel bars to advance to both event finals.

Other notable performers were sophomore Chris Silcox who just missed the cut on parallel bars with an 8.650. Sophomore Jon Drollinger put up a respectable 8.950 on rings and also just missed the cut. The Illlini's season-high vault score was due in part to three career-highs set by sophomores Michael Boyer (9.050), Silcox (9.200) and Haagensen (9.600) as well as Spring's season-high (9.600).

The Big Ten Championships are scheduled to air on College Sports Television (CSTV) on a tape-delay basis. The program is slated to air at 7 p.m. (CST) on Thurs., March 30.

Below is a complete list of Illinois individuals who will be competing in Saturday's event finals, which kick off at 7 p.m. at Carver Hawkeye Arena.

Floor Exercise - Justin Spring
Pommel Horse - Ted Brown, Chris Lung
Rings - Tyler Yamauchi, Justin Spring, Wesley Haagensen
Parallel Bars - Justin Spring, Wesley Haagensen, Tyler Yamauchi
High Bar - Wesley Haagensen, Justin Spring
Vault - Wesley Haagensen, Justin Spring

Men's Gymnastics Meet Results