Dec. 5, 2010
Mixed Pairs Results 
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois men and women's gymnastics teams debuted their skills at the annual Mixed Pairs Exhibition Sunday afternoon at Huff Hall. Each group of gymnasts performed their top events, combining the top three scores out of four routines to make up their team total. The duo of senior Samantha Perino and redshirt sophomore Austin Phillips won this year's Mixed Pairs title with a combined score of 29.9 after a 9.95 on high bar by Phillips and a 9.95 on floor and a perfect 10 on beam by Perino.
Phillips, who also won last year's Mixed Pairs title with Melissa Fernandez, competed for the first time since an ACL injury sidelined him for the entire 2010 season. Perino was named the squad's Most Improved Gymnast a year ago and picked up where she left off from last season.
Senior Paul Ruggeri and Lashlee Morris took second in their final Mixed Pairs Exhibition with a score of 29.85 while a pair of teams tied for third overall. Senior Chad Wiest and freshman Amber See tied with freshman Alex Varga and juniors Anthony Sacramento and Kelsey Joannides with a total of 29.8.
"Mixed Pairs is always a fun way to start off the season," associate head coach Justin Spring said. "It helps the freshmen get some experience competing at home and gives everyone a chance to work out the kinks in their routines. The freshmen really showed up today and without knowing what to expect, took it pretty seriously. We're looking forward to what they'll bring in a real competition."
Members of the Illinois baseball, men's and women's track, soccer, softball and swimming and diving teams were on hand as celebrity judges to evaluate both the men and women using the women's 10-point scoring system in order to add scores systematically to determine the winning group. Six gymnasts earned a perfect 10 on the afternoon.
"It's a great event to kick off the year," interim head coach Kim Landrus said. "It allows us to compete in Huff Hall in front of our fans and helps get the jitters out. Once we got past round one today, we did much better."
The women's regular season competition begins on Jan. 8 in Lexington, Ky., against No. 24 Kentucky and Northern Illinois, while the men start the year off on Jan. 15 at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago. The home opener for both squads takes place on Jan. 29, when the teams compete against Iowa in a double dual at Huff Hall.
