One team is looking for a good time. The other is bottled up in the competition.

That’s why there’s no telling what will go down when the men’s and women’s gymnastics teams group up, butt heads and battle hard in the annual mixed pairs competition Friday at Huff Hall at 7 p.m.

“We’re going to go for a very quality mixed pairs,” men’s head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. “People are going to enjoy the competition.”

The viewer-friendly event that features autographs from gymnasts beforehand will pin teams of four gymnasts – two men and two women – against one another on four events. The wild card comes from the irregular, and somewhat unheard of, method of scoring that will determine winning teams and individual scores in the competition.

It’s fair to say the women’s scores will definitely have a leg up on the men’s.

“Mixed pairs has a format that definitely allows it to be a little bit more fun,” women’s head coach Bob Starkell said. “The announcer is able to clue the fans into things to watch for. For us, it’s a situation with a little less stress involved since you are not actually competing against another school. For the girls, it is a little bit more entertaining to perform.”

In the past, the event was judged by “celebrity” judges, usually athletes from other sports at the University. But this year, only the women’s scoring will be traditional. The men, on the other hand, have made arrangements for qualified judges to oversee their half of the competition. It’s a format Hayasaki hopes will encourage his athletes to treat the event as a true competition, as the “real” judges will no doubt be more critical.

“These guys are very competitive among each other in practice,” Hayasaki said. “This year is going to be one of the toughest years for them to make a lineup. We’re going to have 20 guys on the team and only 12 guys will be competing. So everybody has to compete and step up just to make the lineup.”

The men’s team enters the season ranked eighth nationally after finishing fifth in the country last season and returning all their starters. The Illini return six All-Americans and a stellar recruiting class that includes Nate Luketin, Kyle Moe, Roger Pasek, Daniel Ribeiro, Paul Ruggeri and Johnny Schell. But the one to look out for this season is Wesley Haagensen.

“It’s going to be a huge year for me. I got a lot to prove,” said Haagensen, who was the NCAA all-around runner-up last year and the Big Ten all-around champion. “I just can’t have any mistakes.”

The women’s roster will also look familiar, as they return 22 of 24 routines from last year’s team while adding freshmen Allison Buckley, Melissa Fernandez, Lashlee Morris and Samantha Perino.

After mixed pairs both teams won’t compete again until mid-January. The women have a meet in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Dec. 11, and the men will compete in the Windy City Invite on Jan. 12 in Chicago.