April 7, 2006

Norman, Okla. - Results

The fourth-ranked University of Illinois men's gymnastics team finished in second place to defending national champion and top-ranked Oklahoma in front of a raucous Sooner crowd at the Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday night. The Illini bested their nation leading high score of the season with a 220.975 but Oklahoma notched a 221.400 to capture the title. Illinois' second place finish is their top finish since winning the title in 1989. The Sooners have won four titles in the last five years. No. 2 Stanford (218.375) took third, Penn State (215.125) finished fourth and No. 5 California (215.000) took fifth while No. 7 Iowa (211.800) finished sixth.

"We battled throughout the meet and we still thought we could win it in the end," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "We never gave up despite the injuries and obstacles our team faced. We pulled through and the guys gave their hearts out today. I am very proud of the guys and their effort. Tomorrow is their day to show off their individuality. Today was all about the team effort and every one of our guys fought through. If this was any other arena this maybe could have been a different story. That's how superbly the guys performed today."

Illinois began the competition on high bar and notched a 37.850 to take the early lead in front of Oklahoma who started on parallel bars (37.050) and Stanford on vault (36.775). Senior Justin Spring scored a 9.675 to lead the team while sophomore Ross Bradley posted a 9.575 and senior Adam Pummer recorded a 9.350. Sophomore Wes Haagensen added a 9.275 to the team score. An injury to Chris Silcox on high bar kept the sophomore out the rest of competition.

Due to a bye in the second rotation the Illini fell to fifth place. The Orange and Blue resumed the third rotation on floor exercise where they had to make up ground on Oklahoma who took the lead with a 37.050 on parallel bars and a 38.200 on high bar. Bradley started the Illini off with an 8.450 and Haagensen posted a 9.300. Co-captains Pummer and Spring boosted the team score with Pummer posting a 9.425 and Spring hitting a near flawless routine that resulted in a 9.750 to give the team a 36.925. The Illini remained in fifth place, .425 points behind Oklahoma.

Illini senior Ted Brown set the tone for the Orange and Blue on pommel horse, an event Illinois has struggled with all season, with an 8.975. Big Ten pommel horse runner-up, freshman Chris Lung, followed with a 9.000. Sophomore Tyler Yamauchi posted an 8.500 and after a fall by Haagensen, Spring needed a solid set to keep the Illini in the hunt. The Nissen-Emery winner answered with an 8.200 in only his second attempt on the event this season to give the team a total of 109.475. The Illini bested their previous season-high with a 34.675 and set the highest score on the event, but trailed the Sooners, who stood in third (111.825) and Stanford (110.950) at the half way point.

The Orange and Blue were ready to make a surge and it started on rings were they scored a 36.750 behind the scores from Spring (8.900), sophomore Jon Drollinger (9.225), Haagensen (9.275) and Yamauchi (9.350). The Illini overtook Oklahoma who recorded a 34.350 on pommel horse (146.175 total) but remained behind Stanford's 147.850 total. California moved to first with a 178.700 but had a bye remaining.

Illinois moved into their second to last rotation, the vault where they rank first in the nation. The Orange and Blue posted a 36.775. Spring lead the way with a 9.400 followed by Pummer (9.225), Haagensen (9.125) and Yamauchi (9.025) to bring the Fighting Illini's team score up to 183.000. At the conclusion of the sixth rotation Illinois trailed Oklahoma, who scored a 37.425 on rings to move into first place with a 183.550.

Down .550 points in the final rotation, the Illini had to hit clean routines if they wanted to reach their goal of winning the national championship. Brown started the rotation with an 8.650 and Lung followed, but a fall resulted in a 7.300. Yamauchi went next and posted a 9.050 while Haagensen ensued with a solid 9.600. The fate of the Illini was up to their co-captains. The two senior leaders did not disappoint as Spring scored a 9.675 and Pummer went 9.650. Oklahoma, however, vaulted to a score of 37.850 to capture the title.

In the all-around competition, Haagensen recorded a 54.475 and Spring posted a 55.600, both season-highs, to finish in fourth and second place, respectively. Oklahoma's Jonathan Horton scored a 56.000 to win the all-around title. Both Illini earned All-America honors in the event. This is the first All-America certificate for Haagensen while it is the eighth total for Spring and second in the all-around.

Individually, seven Illini finished in the top ten to advance to tomorrow's event finals which begin at 7 p.m. (CDT). On floor exercise, Spring finished first, Pummer finished fifth and Haagensen tied for seventh. On pommel horse, Brown finished second and Lung finished third. Yamauchi tied for eighth on rings and Spring finished seventh on vault. Three Illini advance on parallel bars as Spring tied for first, Pummer finished third and Haagensen finished fourth. Spring finished third on high bar while Bradley ended the day's competition seventh on high bar.

Saturday's team championships are scheduled to air Tuesday, April 11 at 1:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN2.

2006 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships
Hosted by University of Oklahoma
Team Finals

Team Finals
Team Scores	Total	FX	PH	SR	VT	PB	HB
1. Oklahoma	221.400	36.575	34.450	37.425	37.850	37.050	38.200
2. Illinois	220.975	36.925	34.675	36.750	36.775	37.975	37.875
3. Stanford	218.375	36.900	32.825	37.700	36.775	36.425	37.750
4. Penn State	215.125	36.150	33.825	36.200	36.550	36.075	36.325
5. California	215.000	36.300	33.100	35.725	35.550	36.675	37.650
6. Iowa		211.800	35.900	33.550	34.925	35.675	34.925	36.775

Illinois Individual Finishes (Team Finals)
Floor Exercise
1. Justin Spring - 9.750
5. Adam Pummer - 9.425
7T. Wesley Haagensen - 9.300
34T. Ross Bradley - 8.450
42T. Tyler Yamauchi - 8.250

Pommel Horse
2. Chris Lung - 9.000
3. Ted Brown - 8.975
14T. Tyler Yamauchi - 8.500
22. Justin Spring - 8.200
34. Wesley Haagensen - 7.900
47. Adam Pummer - 6.800

Still Rings
8T. Tyler Yamauchi - 9.350
11. Wesley Haagensen - 9.275
12. Jon Drollinger - 9.225
22T. Justin Spring - 8.900
32T. Chris Lung - 8.500
46. Nick Stango - 7.650

Vault
7. Justin Spring - 9.400
11T. Adam Pummer - 9.225
17T. Wesley Haagensen - 9.125
25T. Tyler Yamauchi - 9.025
29. Anthony Russo - 8.950

Parallel Bars
1T. Justin Spring - 9.675
3. Adam Pummer - 9.625
4. Wesley Haagensen - 9.600
17T. Tyler Yamauchi - 9.050
34T. Ted Brown - 8.650
47. Chris Lung - 7.300

High Bar
3. Justin Spring - 9.675
7. Ross Bradley - 9.575
16. Adam Pummer - 9.350
19T. Wesley Haagensen - 9.275
35. Chris Lung - 8.700
48. Chris Silcox - 7.600

All-Around
2. Justin Spring - 55.600*
4. Wesley Haagesen - 54.475*
*All-America