5 O'Clock Shadow

Paul Ruggeri can write, too. Check out his work here

News you can't leave work without:

Three current Illini are competing this week in the U.S. Senior Men's division of the Visa Championships - the national championship meet for USA Gymnastics - in Dallas. A look at the trio:

PAUL RUGGERI
The junior-to-be is a three-time NCAA champion, with two titles in the high bar and another in the parallel bars. Ruggeri was the high bar gold medalist at the 2009 Winter Cup Challenge, USA Gymnastics' annual winter national meet in Las Vegas. He is entered in the all-around.

DANIEL RIBEIRO
The reigning NCAA champion in the pommel horse will make his Visa Championships debut, competing in his signature event as well as floor exercise and parallel bars. The junior-to-be was the runner-up in the pommel horse at the 2009 Winter Cup Challenge.

LUKE STANNARD
The senior-to-be qualified for his first Visa Championships by winning the pommel horse and placing third in floor exercise at the Men's National Qualifier in Colorado Springs, Colo., on July 11. The Big Ten's reigning pommel horse champion is entered in every event except still rings.

Note: Former Illini Wesley Haagensen (2005-08), who currently trains at the U.S Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, also is entered. Haagensen is expected to compete in the all-around.

On the tube
The TV/Webcast schedule for the Visa Championships:
Thursday: Senior women, Universal Sports/Webcast (live), 7 p.m.
Friday: Senior men, Universal Sports/Webcast (live), 7 p.m.
Saturday: Senior men, NBC (recap), 2 p.m.
Saturday: Senior women, NBC (live), 7 p.m.

Comments

IlliniHQ.com embraces discussion of Illini sports. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. we reserve the right to remove any comment at its discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.

Login or register to post comments