Associate Head Coach Justin Spring Assistant Coach Ivan Ivankov... 6 Director of Gymnastics Bob Starkell... 7 Support Staff...

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1 Associate Head Coach Justin Spring Assistant Coach Ivan Ivankov Director of Gymnastics Bob Starkell Support Staff

2 Coaching staff justin spring associate head coach // first season Justin Spring was promoted to Associate Head Coach for the Illinois men s gymnastics program following the 2009 season after three years as an assistant under the legendary Yoshi Hayasaki. In his new role, Spring will handle all in the gym coaching duties along with assistant Ivan Ivankov and will work closely with Director of Gymnastics Bob Starkell outside the gym. The promotion meant that Spring had to retire from competitive gymnastics to concentrate on coaching full time. In 2009, Spring was named Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year along with Ivankov after helping Illinois to the Big Ten Championship, a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships and three individual NCAA titles. Spring, a former Illini standout, had an amazing year in 2008 that culminated with winning a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Along with his teammates, Spring defied all odds as the U.S. men brought home the bronze medal and surprised everyone, except themselves. Spring was spectacular in the team finals in leading the Americans to the improbable bronze. He scored on vault in the second rotation, a team-leading on parallel bars, a spectacular on horizontal bar, along with on floor exercise in the three-up, three-count format. Spring s road to the Olympics was not an easy one to say the least. Plagued by injuries throughout his career, Spring battled through constant pain in hopes of accomplishing his lifelong dream of bringing home an Olympic medal. Less than a year before his Olympic appearance, Spring tore his ACL at the 2007 Visa Championships. However, he did not let the incident hamper his dreams. After making a speedy recovery, the Burke, Va., native headed to the 2008 Olympic Trials, where he was scheduled to compete on only four events due to a nagging ankle injury. However, he knew he needed to do more in order to make the team. He needed to show the Olympic selection committee that he had the complete package they were looking for. With his dream on the line, Spring rolled the dice and made a last minute decision to add floor exercise to his competition events. Despite not practicing on the event in nearly two months, the gutsy move paid off as he posted a score of , the second highest score of the night. After a second strong day of competition at the Olympic Trials, all Spring could do was wait. The Olympic team would be announced the next day. In the end, the decision to add floor proved to have a huge pay off, as Spring s name was one of the six announced to the team. Spring, one of the most talented gymnasts in Illinois history, finished his collegiate career in He now looks to help lead the Orange and Blue to Big Ten and NCAA Championship titles in his new role on the coaching staff. In his first season as an assistant in 2007, Spring was instrumental in helping the Illini return to the NCAA Championships Super Six, as the Illini extended their streak of top-five finishes to five straight years with fifth-place finishes at NCAAs and Big Tens. In 2008, Spring helped lead the Illini to a runner-up finish behind No. 1 Penn State at the Big Ten Championships. At the 2008 NCAA Championships, the Illini continued their success finishing third, their sixth consecutive top-five finish. The Illini brought home nine All-American honors with freshman Paul Ruggeri winning the national title on high bar, Illinois first high bar champion since Spring in Finishing his collegiate career in 2006, Spring strung together one of the best seasons in Illinois gymnastics history. The season culminated with him earning the 2006 Nissen-Emery Award, an honor that goes to the top senior male gymnast in the nation. A double titlist at the 2006 NCAAs, Spring took home the crown on the high bar and defended his title on parallel bars. In addition, he carded five total All-America honors with a second-place finish in all-around, third on floor exercise and fourth on vault. Along with his individual honors, Spring helped the Illini to runner-up finishes at the 2006 NCAA and Big Ten Championships. The finish at NCAAs came less than a half-a-point shy of team-champion Oklahoma, and just short of the Orange and Blue s 10th national title. Overall, the Burke, Va., native is a four-time NCAA Champion, winning a pair of titles on high bar in both 2004 and 2006 and back-to-back crowns on parallel bars in 2005 and Along with his national recognition, Spring earned 2006 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year accolades after winning the all-around crown at Big Ten Championships. In all, Spring finished his illustrious career with three All-Big Ten first team honors, six Big Ten Gymnast of the Week laurels and three Inside Gymnastics NCAA Gymnast of the Week honors. During his four-year career, Spring garnered three Big Ten Championships with titles on parallel bars and all-around in 2006 and on the floor exercise in Spring is a two-time recipient of the Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year award (2004, 2006), which goes to Illinois top male and female athlete. A face and name that will forever be remembered in Illini record books, Spring left the Fighting Illini a 12-time All-American, the most since Abie Grossfeld earned 13 from , and holds Illinois records on floor exercise, vault, parallel bars and high bar. Spring s success has extended far beyond his honors in collegiate competition, as he won the national title on parallel bars at the 2008 Visa Championships, his third overall honor. In 2005, Spring became the first Illini gymnast to win a National Title at the Visa Championships, winning the gold on high bar. With his two-day combined high bar score of , Spring took home the title on the event. He competed at the 2007 World Cup meet in Moscow, taking home second on high bar at the event. The Illini great was chosen to the 2007 U.S. Pan American Games team, bringing home the United States first gold medal at the games in 16 years when he claimed the crown on parallel bars. He also helped lead the U.S. team to a bronze medal finish at the Games hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Spring then followed the performance with a stellar outing at the 2007 Visa U.S. Championships, where he collected his second U.S. title on high bar - first since and was a silver medalist on floor exercise. 4 // 2010 illinois men s GYmnastics

3 coaching staff Overall, Spring is a five-time U.S. Senior National Team member after his fifth straight selection in Spring also represented the U.S. at the 2005 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne, Australia, on floor exercise, parallel bars and high bar. At the 2005 World Championships, Spring finished 10th to qualify as a reserve on high bar and finished 12th on parallel bars. At the 2005 American Cup, Spring scored a on high bar and brought home the silver medal behind only Olympic champion Paul Hamm. The Illini gymnast finished fourth on the high bar at the 2004 Visa U.S. Championships and competed for Team USA at the 2003 World University Games in Daegu, South Korea, advancing to the finals on floor. Spring graduated from the University of Illinois in 2006 with a bachelor s degree in speech communication and is currently pursuing his master s in recreation, sport and tourism. Spring and his fiancé Tori Tanney plan to wed in the spring of The spring File EDUCATION High School: Lake Braddock (Lake Braddock, Va.) College: University of Illinois ( ) COLLEGIATE CAREER 2006 Nissen-Emery Award winner 2006 NCAA Parallel Bars Champion 2006 NCAA High Bar Co-Champion 2006 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year 2006 Big Ten Parallel Bars Champion 2006 Big Ten All-Around Champion 2005 U.S. National High Bar Champion 2005 NCAA Parallel Bars Champion 2004 NCAA High Bar Champion 2004 Big Ten Floor Exercise Champion 12-time All-American Three-time All-Big Ten Team Member Six-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week Three-time Inside Gymnastics NCAA Gymnast of the Week Two-time UI Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year (2004, 2006) Illinois School Record Holder (FX, VT, PB, HB) Two-Year Team Captain INTERNATIONAL CAREER 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist - Team 2008 Visa U.S. Championships Gold Medalist - Parallel Bars Five-time U.S. Senior National Team Member 2007 Pan American Games Team Member - Bronze Medal 2007 Pan American Gold Medalist - Parallel Bars 2007 Visa U.S. Championships Gold Medalist - High Bar 2007 Visa U.S. Championships Silver Medalist - Floor Exercise 2007 Moscow World Cup Silver Medalist - High Bar 2005 World Championships U.S. Team Member 2005 Visa U.S. Championships Gold Medalist - High Bar 2005 Winter Cup Champion - High Bar 2005 American Cup Silver Medalist - High Bar 2003 World University Games Team Member COACHING EXPERIENCE 2009-present: Associate Head Coach, University of Illinois : Assistant Coach, University of Illinois 2009 Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year 2010 illinois men s gymnastics // 5

4 Coaching staff Ivan Ivankov assistant coach // second season Ivan Ivankov is in his second season as an assistant coach for the Illinois men s gymnastics team in Following the 2009 season when he was a visiting assistant, he was promoted to assistant coach after helping Illinois to the Big Ten Championship, a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships and three individual NCAA titles this season en route to earning Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors along with Justin Spring. Working with Ivan has been great, Spring said. He brings such a passion with his coaching that I have never seen before. We complement each other well, and his decade of experience in international competition has helped this team get ready for the most elite level gymnastics. The 1994 and 1997 World All-Around Champion and two-time Olympian, Ivankov has spent the last five years as a men s team coach at the Bart Connor Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Okla. During his time there he was coach to Rohan Sebastian, a Level 10 gymnast representing Ireland at the 2007 Junior European championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. One of the most accomplished gymnasts in the world over the last decade and a half, Ivankov won 10 World Championship medals, including three Gold. The Misk, Belarus, native competed at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics. He retired from international competition in 2006 after competing at the World Championships. Ivankov achieved the highest athletic level Master of Sport in his native land. The Ivankov File Coaching Experience 2009-present: Assistant Coach, University of Illinois 2009 Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, Competition Highlights 2004, Olympic Games, Athens, Greece - Parallel Bars, 4th 2004, European Championships - Team, 3rd 2003, European Championships - Team, 2nd 2002, World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - High bar, 2nd 2001, World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Team, 1st; All-Around, 2nd; Parallel Bars, 3rd 2000, Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia - All-Around, 4th; Parallel Bars, 5th; Rings, 5th 1998, Goodwill Games - All-Around, 1st 1997, World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - All-Around, 1st; Team, 2nd; Still Rings, 3rd 1996, European Championships - All-Around, 1st 1994, World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - All-Around, 1st; High Bar, 3rd 1994, European Championships - Team 1st; All-Around, 1st 1993, World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Still Rings, 3rd 6 // 2010 illinois men s GYmnastics

5 Bob starkell director of gymnastics / women s Head Coach // 11th Season coaching staff Bob Starkell is in his 11th year at the helm of the Fighting Illini women s gymnastics program, and his 17th year overall at the University of Illinois. program. After a memorable 2009 season during which he was named National Coach of the Year, Starkell added a new title to his resume, as he was promoted to Director of Gymnastics at Illinois. Starkell remains the women s head coach, but now also oversees the prestigious Fighting Illini men s program and works closely with men s associate head coach Justin Spring and assistant coach Ivan Ivankov. For the women s team, Starkell serves as the uneven bars coach in addition to overseeing the full operation of the Coaches Illini Since he took over for former women s head coach Lynn Brueckman in 2000, Starkell has gradually taken the program to new heights. His Illini teams have posted the top-10 team scores in school history, including the school record of set at the 2009 Big Ten Championships. In 2009, Starkell s Fighting Illini burst onto the national scene, making their first ever appearance at the NCAA Championships and producing the school s first first-team All-American in Melissa Fernandez. Under his guidance, the Fighting Illini program has made remarkable strides in the last four years, improving every year at the Big Ten Championships, Regional Championships and final national rankings. He was named Co-Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading Illinois to a second place finish at the 2009 conference championships and producing two individual champions (Kelsey Joannides on vault and Sarah Schmidt on floor). He then led the Illini to their best-ever regional finish of second to earn the trip to Nationals, and helped Allison Buckley claim the West Regional beam crown. At nationals, Illinois finished 12th - the highest in school history - and produced two All-Americans for the first time ever (Fernandez first team on beam, Schmidt second team on floor). Starkell s 2009 team also got it done in the classroom, as all 11 upperclassmen were named Academic All-Big Ten. University Awards / records Review opponents THE STARKELL FILE Coaching Experience Director of Gymnastics, University of Illinois present Head Coach, University of Illinois present Assistant Coach, University of Illinois Head Coach, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (men and women) Assistant Coach, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (men) Honors/awards National Coach of the Year Big Ten Conference co-coach of the Year South Central Regional Coach of the Year , 05 Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year illinois men s gymnastics // 7

6 Coaching staff Support staff Kathy Hug Assistant Athletic Director John Birdsell Equipment Manager Heather Hellman Athletic Trainer Mike Trame Academic Counselor Ali Fairchild Marketing & Promotions Allison Myles Assistant Ticket Manager Sara Rhodes Office Manager Weston Carter Illini Productions 8 // 2010 illinois men s GYmnastics