University of Illinois
NCAA Championships - Team Qualifier
No. 4 Illinois Advances to Super Six Team Final
April 14, 2011 | Men's Gymnastics
April 14, 2011
Session I Results 
| 
Photo Gallery
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The fourth-ranked Illini men's gymnastics team secured a spot in the "Super Six" team final for the ninth straight year, as it advanced from the afternoon qualifying session Thursday with its second-highest score of the season (356.000) to tie with Penn State for second place. Top-ranked Oklahoma (363.500) won the session to also advance to Friday's final and the group will be joined by the top three finishers from the evening session that compete later today. The team and all-around finals will take place Friday, April 15 at 6 p.m. CT at St. John Arena.
"Today we did what we expected to do," head coach Justin Spring said. "We had a really rough start on high bar and I was very impressed with the way we re-gained our focus. I look forward to tomorrow with a full lineup and I think the team is in a good place to have a really solid meet."
After the shaky start on high bar, which produced just one top-eight finisher in freshman Jordan Valdez (4th; 14.500), the Illini got back on track on floor and posted their third-highest score of the season with a 59.900. Redshirt senior Chad Wiest placed third (15.450), while senior Daniel Ribeiro recorded a season-high score of 15.000 to take seventh.
Following a bye in the third rotation, Ribeiro won his team-best 10th individual title of the year on pommel horse with a 15.600. Sophomore Yoshi Mori took second with a season high 15.000, while freshman Cameron Rogers notched a career-high score of 14.250 to tie for sixth and junior C.J. Padera placed eighth (14.200).
On rings, Illinois tallied its highest score of the season with a 59.400, led by junior Tyler Mizoguchi, who tied his season-high score of 15.050 to finish in ninth. Mori paced the squad on vault with a tie for eighth (15.850) heading into the final rotation on parallel bars, where the Illini again secured their highest score of the season (60.550) on the event and set a new school record under the FIG open ended code established in 2008. Mizoguchi led the way with a second-place finish and tied his career high with a 15.550, while Valdez and Wiest tied for fifth with a 15.050, which was a career high for both.
Additionally, career highs were set by Mori on floor (14.750), junior Kyle Moe (14.900), Rogers (14.800) and freshman Andrew Margolis (14.550) on rings, and redshirt sophomore Austin Phillips (14.900) and Rogers (14.700) on parallel bars.
The top-10 finishers from Friday night's team finals will qualify for the NCAA Individual Event Finals set for Saturday, April 16 at 6 p.m. CT. Live results for Friday will be available HERE. Visit fightingillini.com for complete results and recap at the conclusion of each day's events.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS - TEAM QUALIFIER - AFTERNOON SESSION
SESSION I
1. Oklahoma* 363.500
2. ILLINOIS 356.000*
2. Penn State 356.000*
4. Minnesota 346.850
5. Air Force 340.700
6. UIC 340.000
*Advance to Team Finals - Friday, April 15 at 6 p.m. CT
