Dec. 4, 2008
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ¬- The Fighting Illini men and women's gymnastics teams will join together on Sunday, Dec. 7, at 4 p.m. for the annual Mixed Pairs Exhibition meet at Huff Hall. The meet, originally scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, was changed due to Illinois volleyball hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament this weekend at Huff Hall. Members of both squads will form teams of one female and one or two males to compete for the Mixed Pairs title. Both teams will be using the women's 10-point scoring system in order to add scores systematically to determine the winning group. Members of both squads will be available for autographs and will be handing out team schedule cards at the conclusion of the event. Doors open at 3 p.m., and admission is free. Live streaming video will also be available at fightingillini.com.
To open the season, the men boast a No. 4 ranking in the GymInfo national preseason poll and return four All-Americans. The team is coming off a stellar 2008 campaign, where they finished runner-up at the Big Ten Championships and third at NCAAs. Of those returning, sophomores Paul Ruggeri and Daniel Ribeiro look to the lead the way after solid freshman campaigns. Ruggeri is the reigning National High Bar Champion, while Ribeiro was the Big Ten Pommel Horse Champion a year ago.
The coaching staff now leads one of the nation's most highly-touted freshman signing classes that includes Tyler Mizoguchi (Houston, Tex./Taylor), C.J. Padera (Winfield, Ill./Wheaton North), Austin Phillips (Mahwah, N.J./St. Joseph Regional), Maxwell Portocarrero (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Riverhead), Devin Regan (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), and Anthony Sacramento (Libertyville, Ill./Carmel Catholic).
The women's gymnastics team also has high hopes coming into the 2009 season. Last year, the Illini finished the seasoned ranked 15th in the GymInfo Rankings, marking the highest final ranking in program history. The women also took third at the 2008 NCAA South Regional, equaling the highest finish for the Illini at regionals, and took second at the Big Ten Championships.
Of those returning, sophomore Allison Buckley is expected to lead the way after racking up numerous accolades during her freshman campaign, including second team All-American, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and South Central Region Gymnast of the Year. In addition, senior Julie Crall, last year's Big Ten Balance Beam Champion and junior Nicole Cowart, a 2008 NCAA Championship all-around qualifier, are back and should solidify a strong core for the Illini.
Even with so much returning from a year ago, a very talented recruiting class is expected to compete for line-up spots. Freshmen
Alyssa Harmon (Odessa, Fla./Bishop McLaughlin),
Kelsey Joannides (Frederick, Md./Frederick), and
Hannah Welker (Butler, Pa./Knoch) have all looked very good early on in this preseason and should provide depth in several areas, making this year's Illini squad a serious threat to make the NCAA Championships.
Both squads begin the regular season on the road. The women kick things off on Friday, Jan. 9 in East Lansing, Mich., against No. 8 Michigan, No. 17 Michigan State and Western Michigan, while the men head to the Windy City Invitational hosted by the University of Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 17, in Chicago.
The women open their home schedule on Saturday, Jan. 17 against No. 13 Penn State. The men open their home season off with a co-ed meet on Saturday, Jan. 24, when the men take on No. 3 Ohio State.
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