ILLINOIS YEAR IN REVIEW: 2007-2008

	FIGHTING ILLINI: YEAR IN REVIEW

Team	Big Ten finish
W Soccer	Season: 3rd Record: 12-7-2, 6-3-1
Cross country	Men: 6th Women: 4th
Football	Season: T-2nd Record: 9-4, 6-2
Volleyball	Season: 8th Record: 16-14, 8-12
Swim. & diving	Women: 11th
Indoor T&F	Men: 7th Women: 6th
Wrestling	Big Tens: T-3rd
M basketball	Season: T-9th Record: 16-19, 5-13
W basketball	Season: 9th Record: 20-15, 8-10
Gymnastics	Men: 2nd Women: 2nd
Outdoor T&F	Men: 9th Women: 4th
Golf	Men: 3rd Women: 11th
Tennis	Men: T-2nd Women: 4th
Baseball	Season: 4th Record: 31-25, 16-15
Softball	Season: T-6th Record: 30-32, 8-12

Men's cross Country
Trent Hoerr was the star of the Illinois men's cross country team. Hoerr placed third at the Big Ten Championships, won the NCAA Midwest Regional title and finished 16th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. In the process, Hoerr became Illinois' first regional champ since Craig Virgin in 1976 and garnered the program's first All-America honors since 1990.

The team also had its share of success. Illinois placed sixth at the Big Ten Championships for its highest team finish since 1996 when the Illini took home fourth place.

Women's cross country
It was a highly successful season for the Illini women, who finished second at the NCAA Midwest Regional and sixth at the NCAA championships -- good enough for the program's second-best finish ever.

Much of the Illini's success came from the feet of sophomore Angela Bizzarri. Bizzarri led the Illini at all the big meets, including a second-place finish at regionals, a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Soccer
It's all about consistency when it comes to the Illinois soccer team.

And in 2007, the Illini (12-7-2) were as consistent as ever, winning at least 12 games for the fifth straight season and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight season. The Illini's season ended there with a 2-0 defeat to Notre Dame.

The Illini won their first-round matchup against Louisville, 1-0, thanks to an Ella Masar overtime goal. Masar was clutch all season, as she scored a team-high 12 goals and finished with a team-best 27 points.

Football
There weren't many better stories around Big Ten athletics than the one the Illinois football team turned in this season.

On the heels of a luckluster 2-10 campaign, the Illini rebounded with an impressive 9-4 season, including a 6-2 clip in the Big Ten.

The memorable turnaround season included statement wins over perennial powers Penn State (27-20), Wisconsin (31-26) and then-No. 1 Ohio State (28-21). But nothing, not even the giant upset in Columbus, Ohio, could overshadow Illinois' reward for its successful season: the Rose Bowl.

Though the result was far from what Illinois had envisioned (it lost 49-17 to USC), there's no doubt the invitation to Pasadena put Illinois back on the proverbial map. One could also argue it turned what had been a basketball school for so many years into a football school, too.

And the person most responsible for that was star running back Rashard Mendenhall, whose 1,681 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns bested Antoineo Harris and Howard Griffith's school records. Mendenhall parlayed his breakthrough success into a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Volleyball
llinois posted its 21st winning season in the last 23 years in 2007. The Illini defeated a ranked team for the seventh straight season and took eventual national champion Penn State to five games, all the while breaking in a new, yet talented freshman class.

Still the 2007 season will be remembered for how close the Illini came to being a top three team again in the Big Ten and getting a chance to return to the NCAA Tournament. Illinois finished the season 16-14 with nine of the those losses coming in five games.

Swimming & diving
Illinois saved its most impressive performance for the Big Ten Championships, where it set 59 season-best times and 40 career-best times. Despite the individual successes, they didn't carry over to the standings, as Illinois tallied an 11th-place finish.

"I thought we put together a great team meet," Illinois coach Sue Novitsky said. "We preformed well in all six sessions, which shows they listened to us (the coaches) about working on the details and finishing the season strong."

No one finished stronger than sophomore Jen Ivarson, who was the top finisher for the Illini with a third-place finish in the bonus final of the 200 Fly. She followed an excellent preliminary time with an even better final round time of 2:03.11, the fourth fastest time in school history.

Men's indoor track and field
The Illinois men's indoor track and field team finished seventh, scoring 55 points, at the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Championships on the campus of Wisconsin.

Highlights included Gakologelwang Masheto winning the 400m and Dominique Worsley breaking the school record in the 60m. Masheto won his fourth career Big Ten title, crossing the 400m finish line in 47.23 seconds and defeating Michigan State's Jeremy Orr, who was second in 47.40.

Women's indoor track and field
The Illinois women's track and field team posted a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships on the campus of Minnesota.

Senior Tiara Armstrong won the 60m dash and placed third in the 200m to pace the Illini attack. Angela Bizzarri also performed well, taking fifth in the 3000m and fifth in the mile.

Wrestling
Few wrestlers had a better season than Illinois' Mike Poeta. Poeta, the No. 1 seed in the 157-pound bracket of the Big Ten Championships, won the conference title in convincing fashion over Penn state's Dan Vallimont.

His success didn't end there, however. Poeta went on to take second in the NCAA Championships, where he fell to Cornell's Jordan Leen, 5-4, in the title bout. Poeta's finish made him the school's highest national placer since Kyle Ott in 2005.

Poeta was far from one-man show for the Illini. Jimmy Kennedy went 32-7 and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships and second at the Big Ten Championships, while John Wise nearly doubled his career win total and placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships.

Men's basketball
You look at the overall record, then you glance at the Big Ten record, and it's almost impossible to think Illinois was one game away from earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

But the Illini were, thanks to a late-season surge that saw them advance to the title game of the Big Ten Tournament as, of all things, the No. 10 seed. The clock struck midnight in the championship game, however, as regular-season champ Wisconsin proved to be too much in a 61-48 win. And just like that, there was no postseason.

It was an incredible ride, regardless. Consider this: Illinois hadn't won back-to-back Big Ten games all season, but it reeled off three wins in three days at Conseco Fieldhouse to flirt with an NCAA tourney berth. The unpredictable run was a testament to coach Bruce Weber, who endured his first real harsh criticism since arriving in Champaign. 

His players did their share too, especially senior Shaun Pruitt. Pruitt struggled most of the season, was benched during a stretch in conference play, but recovered to average 13.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in the tournament.

Women's basketball
Much like the men, the Illinois women's basketball team saved its best for last. And exactly like the men, Illinois made an unpredictable run to the Big Ten Tournament championship before falling to Purdue on a last-second shot.

But there was still postseason play for the women, unlike their male counterparts, in the form of the WNIT. The Illini were one of five Big Ten teams to accept an invitation to the WNIT, where they lost to eventual champ Marquette, 72-64, in the third round.

From start to finish, it was a successful first season under Jolette Law. The Illini were competitive throughout and even upset Ohio State, the Big Ten's best team all year, and also had a one-point defeat to the Buckeyes to boot.

The Illini's success in the competitive Big Ten came in the form of a well-balanced offensive attack that featured four double-digit scorers, highlighted All-Big Ten first teamer Jenna Smith (18.3 ppg, 9.4 rpg).

Men's gymnastics
The Illinois men had another stellar season to celebrate. Head Coach Yoshi Hayasaki led the Fighting Illini to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships and a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships. Seven Illini earned a total of nine All-America honors, led by Haagensen's three and Ruggeri's national title on high bar.

Illinois boasted a pair of Big Ten Champions in Wes Haagensen (high bar) and Daniel Ribeiro (pommel horse), who both earned First Team All-Big Ten status for their efforts.

Women's gymnastics
The Fighting Illini women enjoyed one of their best seasons in school history. Coach Bob Starkell's squad finished second at the Big Ten Championships, third at the NCAA South Central Regional and was ranked 15th in the final GymInfo rankings.

In addition, Allison Buckley and Nicole Cowart became the sixth and seventh Illini to advance to the NCAA Championships in the all-around, with Buckley bringing home second team All-America honors, and junior Julie Crall won the Big Ten Balance Beam title. Buckley was named South Central Region Gymnast of the Year and Amy Kruse was named South Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year.

Men's golf
Illinois held the lead after Day 1 before placing third at the Big Ten Championships. Though Illinois wasn't able to hold onto its lead, the Illini did perform well enough to earn an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio.

There, The Illini tied Arizona State for 17th place at the 111th NCAA Golf Championships. Scott Langley, who was tied for 24th individually, paced the Illini, who finished just three strokes away from advancing.

Women's golf
The Illinois women's golf team notched two tournament victories during the spring season for the first time since 2003, and senior Seul Ki Park earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, the first Illini to do so since 1995, to highlight the 2008 season.

The Illini, who finished 11th at the Big Ten Championships, began the spring with four straight top-five finishes and each golfer improved on their stroke average from last season.

Men's tennis
The Illinois men's tennis team had the 2008 Big Ten Tournament title in its hands with a late
3-2 lead against No. 2 Ohio State, but the Buckeyes rallied in the end to win the final two
singles matches to earn their third straight conference title, 4-3, over Illinois.

Making their 13th straight NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament appearance, the Illini quickly made
their way to a Sweet 16 matchup with conference foe Ohio State.  A rematch of the Big Ten
Tournament title match, the Buckeyes were again too much for the Illini, as they lost a 4-3
heartbreaker. The grueling match lasted nearly four and a half hours. The Orange and Blue
finish the season with a 20-9 record.

Women's tennis
Illinois parlayed a successful regular season and a semifinal appearance in the Big Ten Tournament into its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2003-04.

There, No. 36 Illinois had to face off against No. 25 Tennessee, which topped the Illini 6-1 during the regular season. It was much of the same this time around en route to a 4-0 defeat.

Softball
Big Ten opponents had a chance to stop Illinois as a team this season, but the same can't be said for shortstop Angelena Mexicano. Mexicano torched Big Ten pitchers all season, roping a Big Ten single-season record 24 home runs.

Mexicano's power helped lead Illinois to a sixth-place tie and into the Big Ten Tournament, where the Illini were topped by No. 3-seed Iowa, 9-1. 

Three Illini -- Shanna Diller, Sarah Byers and Hope Howell -- were named to the All-Big Ten team.

Men's outdoor track and field
Junior Gakologelwang Masheto carried the load for the Illini men's track and field team at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, contributing two second-place finishes, while the team finished 9th overall.

Sophomore Jacob Nachel made it to the awards podium by placing third in the 5,000m with a time of 14:31.34.

In the field events, senior Nick Brown was fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 50 feet, 6 inches, posting a NCAA regional qualifying mark for the first time this year. Redshirt freshman Casey Fonnesbeck also qualified for regionals placing seventh in the shot put with a personal best 57'1".

Women's outdoor track and field
Senior Briana Cunningham won the 400m hurdles title and sophomore Angela Bizzarri was
runner-up in the 5,000m, leading the Illinois women's track and field team to a fourth-place
finish in front of its home crowd at the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Illini 4x100m relay of senior Tiara Armstrong, senior LaNeisha Waller, freshman Cheria
Morgan and freshman Tamika Robinson was third in a time of 45.11 seconds. Ohio State won the
event with a time of 44.63, while Penn State was second (44.97).

Baseball
Illinois grabbed its fourth consecutive Big Ten Tournament berth, entering the event as the No. 4 seed.

Kevin Manson was nearly unhittable against fifth-seeded Ohio State, tossing a four-hit complete game, and second baseman Joe Bonadonna hit the game-winning home run, the first of his career, to lift fourth-seeded Illinois to a 3-2 win in the opening game of the 2008 Big Ten Tournament.

Next up was No. 1 seed Michigan. The Illini held a 2-1 lead in the middle of the seventh, but Michigan came back for the 5-2 win, putting the Illini into an elimination game against Indiana.

Illinois scored six runs in the seventh and eighth innings combined, but Indiana scored five in the bottom of the eighth for a 14-7 victory in the elimination game, bringing the Illini's season to a close.

Information for this report was provided by fightingillini.com and bigten.org.

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