Men's gymnastics team rates second in league

CHAMPAIGN – Big Ten coaches voted Justin Spring's Illinois men's gymnastics team second in a conference preseason poll released Wednesday.

Illinois, which shared the 2009 Big Ten title with Michigan, trailed the Wolverines in the balloting.

Coaches also picked two gymnasts from their teams to comprise a 12-member Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch List, which included returning Illini All-Americans Daniel Ribeiro and Paul Ruggeri.

In softball:

Schedule includes two CWS qualifiers. Illinois coach Terri Sullivan announced a 2010 schedule Wednesday that includes 19 opponents that qualified for the 2009 NCAA tournament. The list includes College World Series qualifiers Missouri and Michigan as well as Super Regional qualifiers Stanford and Ohio State.

"We believe in playing a demanding schedule for two main reasons," Sullivan said. "First, great players enjoy great competition, and secondly, strength of schedule and RPI are major criteria used by the NCAA selection committee in determining seeding for the postseason."

The Illini, who last season made their third NCAA tournament appearance, open the 2010 season Feb. 12-14 at the UNLV Sportko Kick-Off Classic. Illinois' home opener is March 17 against Illinois State.

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