Aug. 28, 2006

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Head men's gymnastics coach Yoshi Hayasaki announced the signing of four 2006-07 incoming freshman in Brian Hulbert (Mokena, Ill. / Lincoln-Way East), Brian Liscovitz (Hillsborough, N.J./ Immaculate), Luke Stannard (Waukegan, Ill. / Warren Township) and Chad Weist (Butler, Pa. / West Sunbury) for this coming fall season. The four freshmen will make a nice complement to Hayasaki's returning squad that features four All-Americans.

The four newcomers look to help fill the void left by the graduation of 2006 Nissen-Emery Award selection, four-time NCAA Champion and 12-time All-American Justin Spring, eight-time All-American Adam Pummer, All-American Ted Brown and two-time CGA All-American Scholar-Athlete Anthony Russo.

Hulbert comes to Illinois after a solid career at Lincoln-Way East High School. Hulbert was a 2006 high school all-around champion, while also competing for the Gym-Kinetics, Premier club. Coached by Skip Adamson, Hulbert was a two-sport athlete at Lincoln-Way East, earning two varsity letters in golf and three in gymnastics. Before joining the Illini, he was tabbed a gymnastics all-conference and all-state member his sophomore, junior and senior year by the Chicago Tribune, and led Lincoln-Way East a state team championship in his final season. Hulbert is the son of Rick and Karen Hulbert and has an older brother, Chris.

Liscovitz is set to don the Orange and Blue after competing for the Surgents Elite club team, the same club team as recent graduates Brown and Russo, where he was coached by Matt Stevenson. A graduate of Immaculate High School in Somerville, N.J., he was a two-time state champion on parallel bars and a Region 7 team member. In 2004, the Hillsborough, Ill., native won a national championship on parallel bars and placed fourth in 2006. Liscovitz is the son of Michael and Joanne Liscovitz, and has one sister, Meredith.

Stannard joins the Illini after a stellar career at Warren Township high school. During his senior year, he carded four top-10 finishes, including taking the crown on pommel horse and finishing second in the all-around competition at the Illinois state meet. Stannard finished third on the floor exercise at the Midwest regional championships and tabbed an eighth-place outing on pommel horse. On the national level, the Waukegan, Ill., native finished 13th and 18th on the floor exercise and all-around, respectively. With his all-around finish at regionals, Stannard punched his ticket onto the Midwest regional team that finished second at the national competition. Along with his high school competition, he trained with the Ultimate Gymnastics club in Gurnee, Ill., where he led his team to a bronze-medal finish at the Illinois state championships during his senior year. Stannard is the son of Clint and Diane Stannard, and has one sister, Sarah,

Weist wraps up the talented incoming class for Hayasaki's Fighting Illini. Coached by Kevin Hallinan at West Sunbury High School, Weist competed with the Butler Gymnastics club that claimed a state championship during his senior year. Weist was a state champion in all-around in 2006, then took home the title in vault and parallel bars and finished third in all-around at the regional competition. The Butler, Pa., native also made the finals in all-around at nationals. The Illini recruit was a regional team member from 2004-06, while also competing at the Winter Cup in 2005 and 2006. He also finished fifth on the floor exercise at the 2005 nationals competition. A standout athlete, Weist earned team MVP and Most Consistent gymnast by his club team during his final two seasons.. A first team Academic All-American at Junior Olympic Nationals honoree, Weist also made the honor roll throughout his high school career. Weist is the son of Scott and Shari Weist, who have two other children, Scotty and Cassie.