March 31, 2009

Complete Big Ten Championships Notes in PDF Format

For Openers
The Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team travels to the 2009 Big Ten Championships this Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4, at 6 p.m. CT. The Championships will take place at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Jim Kelly, John Roethlisberger and Rob Brown will call the action.

Championship Preview
This year's competition promises to be one of the most competitive in history, as all six teams are ranked in the nation's top-10, including the top-five packed tightly together between 4 and 8. Illinois leads the way at No. 4 and is followed closely by No. 5 Michigan and No. 6 Penn State.

The Illini will be in search of their first Big Ten title since 2004.

FRIDAY ROTATION:

No. FX PH SR V PB HB
1 PSU MINN OSU ILL IOWA MICH
2 MICH PSU MINN OSU ILL IOWA
3 IOWA MICH PSU MINN OSU ILL
4 ILL IOWA MICH PSU MINN OSU
5 OSU ILL IOWA MICH PSU MINN
6 MINN OSU ILL IOWA MICH PSU

2008 Big Ten Championships Recap
The No. 5 Illinois men's gymnastics team posted a season-high 357.300 to finish runner-up at the 2008 edition of the Big Ten Championships hosted by Penn State University in University Park, Pa., at historic Rec Hall. Senior Wes Haagensen led the charge by finishing third in the all-around, falling just short of grabbing back-to-back titles in the event after winning it in 2007. And, despite the Illini posting their season best at the championships, the mark came up just short of 2008 champion Penn State, who registered the night's best score of a 360.450 to claim their second Big Ten title in program history, dethroning three-time Big Ten champion Ohio State in the process.

Senior Wes Haagensen and freshman Daniel Ribeiro, both battled to Big Ten event titles at Rec Hall on the the second night of the 2008 conference championships. Haagensen grabbed his crown on high bar with a 14.900 - his second conference title of his career, while Ribeiro wiped out the field by almost a point, scoring a career-high 15.700 on pommel horse to claim his first Big Ten event title of his career.

ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
The Illini came in at No. 4 in the latest GymInfo rankings on March 30 with a three score average of 353.833. As a team, the Illini lead the nation on pommel horse with an average score of 59.933. The Orange and Blue rank third on floor (59.767), fourth on parallel bars (58.183), sixth on high bar (57.683), sixth on vault (62.367) and seventh on still rings (58.433).

LAST TIME OUT
The fourth-ranked Illinois men's gymnastics team defeated the seventh-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers back on March 21 at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn. Sophomore Paul Ruggeri placed first in the all-around competition with a score of 86.950, while junior Luke Stannard took first on pommel horse and senior Tyler Williamson won the individual event title on rings. With the win over the Gophers, the Illini completed the dual-meet sweep of conference opponents this season.

RIBEIRO RIDING HIGH
Illinois sophomore Daniel Ribeiro, ranked No. 1 in the country on pommel horse, heading into the Big Ten Championships, hit an almost flawless pommel horse routine to score a 15.950 on the event and take home the individual crown in the dual meet against the UIC Flames on March 6. The score of 15.950 is the highest number posted by any NCAA gymnast this season on the event and was a career-high for the Chesnut Ridge, N.Y., native.

ILLINI TOP WOLVERINES SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
The fourth-ranked Illinois men's gymnastics team topped the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines 354.900-353.900 on Saturday, March 14, spoiling the Wolverines Senior Night at Cliff Keen Arena. The Illini won three individual event titles and were paced by the return of sophomore Paul Ruggeri who took first on vault and parallel bars. Sophomore Daniel Ribeiro, ranked No. 1 in the nation on pommel horse, took the event crown for the third meet in a row. As a team, the Illini edged out Michigan on three events, including pommel horse (58.100), parallel bars (58.450) and high bar (58.400). While the reigning NCAA High Bar champion Ruggeri did not take the high bar title against Michigan, his presence in the lineup was certainly felt, as the Illini posted a team season high score against the Wolverines. Freshman C.J. Padera took second place on high bar with a score of 14.700 and senior Ross Bradley came in third, posting a score of 14.650.

IN THE BOOKS: ILLINI SMOTHER FLAMES
The fourth-ranked Illinois men's gymnastics team sent its seniors out in style on Saturday, March 6, posting a season-high score of 357.850 to defeat the 12th-ranked Illinois-Chicago Flames, 342.800, in front of 1,155 fans at Huff Hall. The Orange and Blue took five individual event titles with sophomore Roger Pasek winning floor, sophomore Daniel Ribeiro taking first on pommel horse, senior Tyler Williamson winning the vault title, junior Andres Saavedra taking the parallel bars crown and freshman C.J. Padera placing first on high bar to finish the evening. As a team, the Illini posted season-high scores on four events including floor (60.000), pommel horse (60.050), vault (62.850) and high bar (57.800).

SENIOR DAY
At the meet against the UIC Flames on March 7, the Illini men honored three seniors for their accomplishments during the past four years here at Illinois. Nate Luketin, Chris Lung and Nick Stango all competed in their final regular season meet at Huff Hall.

ILLINI CELEBRATE 100 SEASONS
Over a 100 former gymnasts returned to Huff on March 7 to celebrate 100 seasons of Illinois men's gymnastics, including seven-time NCAA Champion Abie Grossfeld, two-time National Champion Travis Romagnoli, National pommel horse champion Dave Stoldt, two-time All-American Butch Zunich, two-time Olympian Dominick Minicucci, Nissen-Emery award winner David Zeddies, eight time All-American Adam Pummer, NCAA Pommel Horse Champion Bob Rogers and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Justin Spring.

WINTER CUP RECAP
The Illini took a break from team competition as they sent nine individuals to the Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas on Feb. 5 and 7. Illinois sophomore Paul Ruggeri captured the gold medal on high bar at the prestigious event held at the Las Vegas Sports Center. Ruggeri, the reigning NCAA high bar champion, had a combined score from the two days of competition of 30.500 on the event, edging out Olympian Joey Hagerty (30.450) for the national title. In other Illini news, sophomore Daniel Ribeiro finished runner-up on pommel horse with a combined score of 30.000.

RUGGERI NAMED CO-BIG TEN GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Paul Ruggeri was named Co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Week by the conference office for the week ending Feb. 8. The Manlius, N.Y., native garnered his first weekly laurel of the season after capturing the gold medal on high bar at the 2009 Winter Cup Challenge at the Las Vegas Sports Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on Saturday. Ruggeri shared the weekly conference laurel with Michigan's Chris Cameron. Ruggeri, the reigning NCAA high bar champion, had a combined score from the two days of competition of 30.500 on the event, edging out Olympian Joey Hagerty (30.450) for the national title.

This marks the third weekly honor for Ruggeri, who earned his previous two awards in consecutive weeks during his freshman campaign in February of 2008.

SPRING NAMED TO SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM
Third-year assistant coach Justin Spring earned his eighth overall selection to the U.S. Senior National Team on Feb. 9. The 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist was able to petition for a spot after competing at the Olympics this past summer. The 15 members on the team retain their national team status until the 2009 Visa Championships in August. Members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that won the team bronze medal who petitioned for a spot on the team are: Artemev, Bhavsar, Hagerty, Horton, Spring and Tan.

Illinois vs. Ohio State Recap
The Illini downed the Buckeyes 351.950-349.050 in their home opener on Jan. 24. Sophomore standout Paul Ruggeri captured the all-around title edging out the Buckeyes' Jake Bateman 87.950-87.050. As a team, the Illini edged out the Buckeyes on four events and tied for the floor title. The Orange and Blue recorded 14 top-three finishes in its season-high score of 351.950. The Fighting Illini won four individual event titles on pommel horse, parallel bars, high bar and the all-around competition.

2009 WINDY CITY RECAP
The No. 4 Illinois men's gymnastics team started off the 2009 season with a solid second place finish at the Windy City Invite Saturday night in Chicago. The Orange and Blue posted a team score of 342.250 to finish behind only No. 6 Michigan (346.100) and ahead of No.8 Minnesota (341.400), No. 3 Ohio State (337.650), No. 12 UIC (327.700) and No. 9 Iowa (325.900).

RUGGERI and RIBEIRO EARN PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
The sensational sophomore duo of 2008 NCAA high bar champion Paul Ruggeri and 2008 Big Ten pommel horse champion Daniel Ribeiro were 2009 preseason All-Big Ten selections, as voted on by the coaches. Illinois, as a team, was selected third in the conference in the preseason poll.