Jan. 19, 2010

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The weekly accolades continue for junior Paul Ruggeri (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville Manlius), as he was named this week's NCAA Gymnast of the Week by Inside Gymnastics, announced Tuesday afternoon. It is the first such honor of his career and the first for Illinois since Wes Haagensen earned the accolade on January 17, 2007.

As a team, the Illini won five of the six events, led by Ruggeri who placed first in the all-around (88.600) and high bar (15.600) and also finished in second place on the vault (15.800) and floor exercise (15.500) and fourth on the parallel bars (14.450). Ruggeri's previous weekly honor came last February following his performance at the U.S. Winter Cup Challenge.

The Illini also moved into the No. 1 spot in the latest GymInfo team rankings released earlier today, after posting a team score of 353.750 at the Windy City Invitational.