April 3, 2010
Photo Gallery
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
One day after capturing its second straight Big Ten team title, Illinois continued its dominance in the Big Ten Individual Event Finals Saturday night at St. John Arena. Junior Paul Ruggeri won Big Ten titles on vault (16.350) and high bar (15.550) for the first time in his career and third and fourth overall, while classmate Daniel Ribeiro won his second-career Big Ten pommel horse title (15.625) and sophomore C.J. Padera won the first Big Ten title of his career on parallel bars (14.975). This is the second straight year the Illini have captured at least three individual event titles.
All three event winners earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades and senior Brian Liscovitz secured second-team honors for the first time in his career after finishing in second place on parallel bars (14.950). Liscovitz also was named Illinois' Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
"It was an amazing weekend," first-year associate head coach Justin Spring said. "I'm so proud of the guys. They did everything they needed to. We're just blessed with guys who have the ability to turn it on. We're thrilled and we'll take this momentum into NCAAs."
Spring was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm for Illinois, while Yoshi Mori earned Co-Freshman of the Year honors with Felix Aronovich of Penn State. Chris Cameron of Michigan was named Gymnast of the Year.
Several Illini also finished in the top five including senior Chad Wiest on floor exercise (4th; 15.175), senior Luke Stannard (4th; 14.600) and sophomore Tyler Mizoguchi (5th; 14.450) on pommel horse, sophomore Anthony Sacramento on rings (5th; 15.075) and Padera on high bar (3rd; 15.200).
The Illini return to action in two weeks for the 2010 NCAA Championships, April 15-17 in West Point, N.Y.
Big Ten Individual Event Finals - Illinois Results
April 3, 2010
Floor
4. Chad Wiest 15.175
9. Luke Stannard 14.675
Pommel Horse
1. Daniel Ribeiro 15.625
4. Luke Stannard 14.600
5. Tyler Mizoguchi 14.450
9. C.J. Padera 13.375
Rings
5. Anthony Sacramento 15.075
T-7. Tyler Mizoguchi 14.750
Vault
1. Paul Ruggeri 16.350 (career high)
7. Yoshi Mori 15.575
Parallel Bars
1. C.J. Padera 14.975
2. Brian Liscovitz 14.950
T-6. Chad Wiest 14.325
High Bar
1. Paul Ruggeri 15.550
3. C.J. Padera 15.200
6. Brian Liscovitz 14.825
9. Luke Stannard 14.400
