Men's gymnasts fifth; Ruggeri third

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MINNEAPOLIS – The Illini didn't send coach Yoshi Hayasaki out with a national championship, but the 33-year Illinois men's gymnastics coach couldn't be more proud of his squad after a fifth-place finish Friday at the NCAA Championships.

"I'm just glad we finished on a high note," said Hayasaki, who's retiring after tonight's individual championships. "I'm very, very proud of the way the guys competed, all 12 of them. It's a proud day for Illinois men's gymnastics."

The Illini finished with a score of 359.300. NCAA champion Stanford scored 362.800. The Illini scored a 56.700 on the parallel bars and had they performed better, Hayasaki says his team could have won it all.

"We had a great meet in all events except one, the parallel bars. We made one too many mistakes," the coach said. "It cost us the national championship. Otherwise, we had some of our best routines on the floor and the rings and vaulting. Our guys did their very best and gave it all on the final day. If you make one mistake at this level, that's what happens."

Sophomore Paul Ruggeri, the 2008 NCAA high bar champ, finished third in the all-around to earn All-America honors.

"He was very good again," Hayasaki said. "The pommel (horse) cost him the title but he had one of his best performances. He's been so consistent and he's been doing that all along for us."

This marks the seventh consecutive season the Illini have finished in the top five at the NCAA Championships. The Illini finished second in 2006 and third in 2008.

His career at Illinois is over, but Hayasaki isn't certain how he will spend his retirement.

"We're going to enjoy this then sit down and think about that and see what happens," he said.

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