Jan. 20, 2007

Complete Results

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Illinois men's gymnastics team dropped its dual season opener tonight, falling to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 207.150-204.750 at the Sports Pavilion. Junior Wes Haagensen captured his second all-around title of the season to lead the Illini, while freshman Chad Wiest and junior Jon Drollinger each took home individual crowns on floor exercise and rings, respectively.

"It was a rough night for us," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "I was proud of how well Chad, Jon and Wes competed tonight. We had a few bright spots overall, but we have a lot of work to do to get prepared for next week."

Illinois, as a team, bested the Golden Gophers on three events, including the floor exercise (36.300-35.850), rings (36.150-34.900) and parallel bars (35.250-34.900). However, the effort came up short against a well-prepared Golden Gopher squad.

"Minnesota is always a tough venue to compete at," Hayasaki said. "We were just not able to hit our routines tonight. I give credit to Minnesota. They came in today ready to compete and did a good job."

Haagensen finished first in the all-around (49.600) for the second straight week and tied for second on parallel bars (8.900). In addition, Drollinger, who tied his career high of 9.500, took home the individual crown on rings.

Wiest had a breakout performance in just his career collegiate competition, grabbing the floor exercise title with a season-high score of 9.450, while also setting a personal best on high bar (8.250). The Butler, Pa., native also took third on vault with an 8.500.

Junior Michael Boyer tied his career high of a 9.200 to finish third on the floor exercise, while sophomore Tyler Yamauchi earned a solid 9.350 on the rings to finish second to Drollinger on the event. Overall, the Illini had six top-three finishes on the night.

Illinois will be back in action when it hosts its home opener against defending Big Ten Champion Ohio State on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. in Huff Hall.