WHAT TO WATCH

Three Illini events to keep an eye on this weekend:

MEN'S TENNIS

6 p.m. Friday vs. Virginia, at Atkins Tennis Center

Brad Dancer's No. 15 Illini won't exactly be easing into their dual-meet schedule. Up first is two-time defending ITA National Team Indoor champion Virginia. The No. 2 Cavaliers (1-0) are loaded again with no fewer than seven nationally ranked singles players, including five in the top 31. No. 3 Michael Shabaz tops that list. Last fall, the junior reached the semifinals at the ITA National Indoor Singles Tournament, defeating then-No. 24 Dennis Nevolo of Illinois and then-No. 1 Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Oklahoma State along the way. Shabaz also is a defending NCAA doubles champion, teaming with the now-departed Dominic Inglot for the title last spring. Illinois made its spring-semester debut last weekend in an individual tournament at Fort Myers, Fla. Junior Abe Souza and freshman Stephen Hoh each finished 3-0 in singles.

MEN'S, WOMEN'S TRACK

Carle/Health Alliance Classic

Friday-Saturday at UI Armory

Two-time NCAA champion and eight-time All-American Angela Bizzarri is scheduled to make her final appearance on her home indoor track Saturday. She'll join an all-senior Illini 1,600-meter relay lineup of Theresa Brokaw, Jamie Brusa and Ashley Thompson for Illinois' lone home meet of the indoor season. The reigning NCAA cross-country champion typically is held out of meets at this early stage of the indoor season to provide more recovery time between seasons. But UI women's distance-running coach Jeremy Rasmussen is making an exception this year to give Bizzarri – and her fans – a farewell race on her home track. Bizzarri, the 2009 NCAA champion in the 5,000 meters, last competed at the Armory during her freshman year.

Illinois will be joined at this annual meet by seven men's teams and five women's teams. The field includes Miami, Pittsburgh, Western Kentucky and Central Florida (women only). The meet begins at 4:30 p.m. Friday with the first four heptathlon events. On Saturday, field events and the remaining heptathlon events begin at 9 a.m. The first running event is at 11:30 a.m.

WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS

7 p.m. Saturday vs. Oklahoma, at Huff Hall

With his program steadily on the rise, Illini coach Bob Starkell has sought to make the schedule increasingly challenging for a team coming off its first NCAA Championships appearance. Consider it done. Based on the current GymInfo rankings, the No. 2 Sooners are the third Top 10 team Illinois will face in the first three weeks of the season, following No. 5 Oregon State and No. 9 Nebraska. After finishing behind the Beavers and Cornhuskers in their gyms, the No. 25 Illini (3-2) finally will be in familiar surroundings in their home debut. The Sooners (2-0) are the highest-ranked team to visit Huff Hall during Starkell's 17-year Illini tenure, including 11 as head coach. So far, Oklahoma has hit 47 of 48 routines in victories against Florida and Auburn. "They are really consistent," Starkell said. "They have some awfully good talent." That talent includes four-time U.S. National Team member Natasha Kelley, who's back after missing the 2009 season with an Achilles' tendon tear. Illini junior Allison Buckley, the reigning women's Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, is off to a strong start. But Starkell senses that some other members of his team are feeling the pressure of raised expectations created by last season's breakthrough feats, including a No. 12 ranking in the final poll. "The expectations are high, and they're putting more pressure on themselves," Starkell said. "We're coming out of the gate a little slow. I'm hoping a home meet will help."

ILLINI OF THE WEEK

Paul Ruggeri, gymnastics

The defending NCAA champion in two events has picked up right where he left off in 2009. Ruggeri was dominant in the season-opening Windy City Invitational on Saturday at Chicago, winning the all-around and high bar and finishing second in two other events. In fact, the Illini junior placed in the top four five times while leading Illinois to its first Windy City team title since 2005. Ruggeri's all-around score of 88.600 was the fourth highest in UI history and third highest of his career (see The List below). And his high-bar routine produced the No. 2 score (15.600) in school history, behind only his performance at the 2009 NCAA team finals (15.750). Folks took notice. Ruggeri was named NCAA Gymnast of the Week by Inside Gymnastics and Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, the fourth such award of his career.

NEWS & VIEWS

Golfer commits

Alex Burge, a two-time top-three finisher at the IHSA Class 2A state golf tournament, has orally committed to the Illini men's team. The Bloomington junior agreed to accept a scholarship offer from UI coach Mike Small late last week during a campus visit.

Burge placed third at state last fall with a two-round total of 148, 2 strokes behind the winner. In 2008, the then-sophomore was the state runner-up, 1 shot behind the champion with a 143.

Burge is the son of Danville native Wilson Burge, who won an IHSA state tennis title in doubles in 1960 with partner Frank Noble.

Kicking up sand

Illini volleyball coach Kevin Hambly doesn't expect his program to begin playing sand volleyball while it is an NCAA emerging sport. NCAA Division I members, at a Jan. 15 meeting, reaffirmed the addition of sand volleyball as an emerging sport for women.

A vote was taken on a proposal to strike down the previous adoption of sand volleyball, but it failed to attain the minimum five-eighths majority. All Big Ten schools voted against moving forward with sand volleyball.

Play is expected to begin in 2011-12, a year later than initially planned because of extended debate on the issue. If enough schools add the program during the following 10 years, sand volleyball would become an NCAA championship sport.

Hambly said he favors adding scholarship opportunities for female athletes but argues this is the wrong time, because of a weak economy, to be adding sports.

"Schools are cutting budgets, states are struggling, and it will be interesting to see what schools have the money to get this started," he said.

After sand volleyball initially was approved in April 2009, opposition arose, primarily among land-locked and cold-weather schools. Their objections focused on whether schools with sand volleyball would gain a competitive and recruiting advantage over those that chose not to field a team.

"If we do or don't have sand ball, will kids not be interested?" Hambly asked. "Will it drive more players to the warmer states?"

But Hambly also acknowledges that cold-weather schools have proven they can be nationally successful in sports best suited to warm weather, such as golf, softball and tennis.

Hambly also has concerns about losing the traditional practice period in the spring, which he considers vital to the development of players' skills.

"It just raises more and more questions," Hambly said of the addition of sand volleyball, "and I am not sure we can know anything at this time. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out."

EDDLEMAN AWARD WATCH

(winter sports edition)

Each week, we'll rank our top three candidates for the 2009-10 Dike Eddleman Award, which annually goes to the top male and female athletes at the University of Illinois:

MALE

1. Paul Ruggeri, gymnastics. Junior now a four-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week award winner.

2. John Dergo, wrestling. With 89 career wins, senior alone at No. 24 on all-time UI chart.

3. Demetri McCamey, basketball. Junior closing in on becoming 42nd Illini with 1,000 career points.

FEMALE

1. Jenna Smith, basketball. Meet the new Illini women's leader in career rebounds (1,015).

2. Allison Buckley, gymnastics. Junior ranked No. 24 nationally, third in Big Ten in all-around.

3. Aja Evans, track & field. School shot put record-holder can run a mean 60 meters, too.

THE LIST

Paul Ruggeri attained the fourth-highest all-around score in Illini men's gymnastics history Saturday and now owns four of the top six all-time UI scores:

NAME SCORE DATE

Paul Ruggeri 90.450 April 16, 2009

Wes Haagensen 89.600 March 8, 2008

Paul Ruggeri 89.500 April 17, 2009

NAME SCORE DATE

Paul Ruggeri 88.600 Jan. 16, 2010

Wes Haagensen 88.500 Jan. 26, 2008

Paul Ruggeri 88.100 Feb. 16, 2008