Feb. 24, 2008

Complete Results

OAKLAND, Calif. - The No. 5 Illinois men's gymnastics team finished the highly competitive 2008 Pacific Coast Classic in fifth place with a team score of 346.700 at the Oakland Convention Center on Saturday night. While the team finish was far from the Illini's expectations, individually the Fighting Illini posted 13 top-15 finishes to close out a solid performance at the 2008 Classic, with their highest finish coming from senior and 2007 Big Ten all-around champion Wes Haagensen, who took second in the all-around with a score of 86.200.

At the end of the night, the Orange and Blue overall had one of their toughest nights all season in the gym but still managed to set six career highs before the competition was finished. Despite the troubles, Illinois' bright spots stemmed from Haagensen's silver medal finish in the all-around, while the 2007 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year also tossed in a tied for seventh effort on parallel bars (14.700).

Freshman Paul Ruggeri continued to impress the nation with his third-place finish on floor (15.500) and tied for third outing on high bar (14.850). Ruggeri also was Illinois top finisher on vault, carding a 15.500, which was good enough for 11th in the competitive field.

Senior co-captain and two-time All-American on rings, Tyler Yamauchi, turned in a career-high on still rings to finish sixth overall with a score of 15.400, followed by Haagensen, who came in 17th with a career-best 14.750. Sophomore Luke Stannard was the Fighting Illini's leader in the standings on pommel horse, as he tallied a tied for 12th-place finish along with junior Chris Lung.

The Illini accumulated the second-best team score of the season on parallel bars (57.700), all behind the tied for seventh-place finishes of Yamauchi and Haagensen, who both posted 14.700s on the night. Finally, Ruggeri's tied for third-place finish on high bar led the Illini on the apparatus, while his fourth-place standing in the all-around closed out the individual event superlatives for Illinois at the Classic.

No. 1-ranked Stanford took home the team title with a 361.650 on the evening followed by No. 3 Oklahoma (359.800), No. 4 California (354.400), No. 6 Michigan (348.950), Illinois and Air Force rounding out 324.900. Iowa was previously scheduled to make the trip to California, but was replaced in the six-team field with the Air Force Academy. Stanford also finally ended Oklahoma's three-year rein as champion with their first-place finish in 2008.

For a full list of results and standings from the 2008 Pacific Coast Classic, visit the official meet web site at www.usa-sports.org and clicking on "Meet Results" at the top of the main page.

Illinois hits the road again this coming weekend when they travel to No. 11 Iowa on Saturday, March 1, to take on the Hawkeyes in a 2 p.m. meet in Iowa City, Iowa.

2008 PACIFIC COAST CLASSIC ILLINOIS RESULTS

Floor Exercise (59.050, Fourth)
3. Paul Ruggeri - 15.500
T14. Wes Haagensen - 14.700
T17. Luke Stannard - 14.600
T25. Andres Saavedra - 14.250 [*]
T25. Daniel Ribeiro - 14.050 [*]
T25. Roger Pasek - 14.250

Pommel Horse (54.200, Fifth)
T12. Luke Stannard - 13.950
T12. Chris Lung - 13.950
T23. Daniel Ribeiro - 13.200
T23. Ross Bradley - 13.100
30. Wes Haagensen - 12.800
33. Paul Ruggeri - 12.050

Still Rings (58.650, Fifth)
6. Tyler Yamauchi - 15.400 [*]
T17. Wes Haagensen - 14.750 [*]
20. Jon Drollinger - 14.650
28. Tyler Williamson - 13.850
T30. Paul Ruggeri - 13.450
T35. Chris Lung - 12.650

Vault (61.000, Fourth)
11. Paul Ruggeri - 15.500
T13. Wes Haagensen - 15.350
T17. Andres Saavedra - 15.300 [*]
T23. Roger Pasek - 14.850
26. Chris Lung - 14.800 [*]
T28. Luke Stannard - 14.650

Parallel Bars (57.700, Fourth)
T7. Tyler Yamauchi - 14.700
T7. Wes Haagensen - 14.700
16. Brian Liscovitz - 14.450
T20. Paul Ruggeri - 13.850
T22. Chris Lung - 13.700
T28. Andres Saavedra - 13.300

High Bar (56.100, Fifth)
T3. Paul Ruggeri - 14.850
18. Chris Lung - 14.250
21. Wes Haagensen - 13.900
T26. Brian Liscovitz - 13.100
29. Luke Stannard - 13.000
T32. Ross Bradley - 12.500

All-Around
2. Wes Haagensen - 86.200
4. Paul Ruggeri - 85.200

Results Legend
* - Season/Career High