There will be a new addition to Las Vegas’ clubs and casinos next weekend. The annual U.S. Winter Cup Challenge will be held Feb. 7-9, when three athletes from the Illinois men’s gymnastics team will compete for a spot on the U.S Senior National team.

Fifteen spots are available, eight of which are automatically given to the gymnasts who were on the 2012 Olympic team.

Things have changed since 2009, when Illinois head coach Justin Spring competed in his last Winter Cup Challenge.

“Right now the national team is pretty strong, young and full of graduates,” Spring said. “When I was coming through, that was my generation and a lot of the national team members were active NCAA athletes. To have even one guy on the national team now is special.”

Senior Yoshi Mori and juniors Chad Mason and Jordan Valdez will represent Illinois next weekend.

Luke Stannard, Illinois men’s gymnastics alumnus, will also represent the Illini next weekend. Stannard returned to Illinois this year to as a volunteer coach and to prepare for the Winter Cup Challenge.

Paul Ruggeri, who helped lead Illinois to its NCAA Championship title, will also compete for a spot on the national team. Ruggeri competed at the 2012 Olympic Trials but fell short of making the Olympic team. Though the familiar face of C.J. Maestas won’t be able to compete for what could be his fifth consecutive national team appearance, a petition for a spot on the team has been sent.

“It wasn’t even a decision that needed to be made,” Spring said. “You kind of always do a petition because it doesn’t hurt, but with him we were cautious to make sure it was a legit one with his results from the Pan American games, Visa Championships and the Winter Cup Challenge. He’s been a consistent member as far as making the team and then competing well internationally.”

After winning the NCAA Championship title, Valdez sees earning a spot on the senior national team as the next step. He was a member of the junior national team in 2009 and 2010. Though he will compete in the presence of Olympic standouts such as Danell Leyva and Samuel Mikulak, Valdez isn’t fazed.

“I’ve been there a few times, so it isn’t so much of a star-struck thing for me,” he said. “The Olympic team, I knew all those guys, I’ve trained with them and I’ve been to camps with them. It’ll be cool to see them again, but I’m not really starstruck anymore.”

Mori was also a member of the junior national team from 2007 to 2009 but has never made a senior national team. His most recent attempt was at the 2012 Visa Championships this summer. Though he hasn’t ever been a member, Spring sees a spot for Mori on the team.

“Yoshi arguably has the talent to be one of our better national team members but has just been held back with restrictions,” Spring said. “He looks up to a lot of the national team members that were his friends that he has trained with and aspires to be like, and I’m looking at Yoshi thinking, ‘Yoshi, you could be so much better than them.’”

This will be Mason’s first time competing at the Winter Cup Challenge. He hasn’t suffered any recent injuries and is in good shape to have a strong performance. Mason asked for advice from Maestas and Mori about what the experience is like.

“They said it’s really not that bad,” he said. “The venue is pretty big and they do pack a pretty big crowd in there, but they said it’s way more pressure competing at NCAAs or Big Tens.”

With anxiety running high and nervousness spreading, Spring plans to use his experience from national competitions to help give the meet more of a relaxed feel.

“I think a lot of people can get worked up or close up a little bit and get a little tight in the meet, instead of letting it all out the way they know they can and hitting,” Spring said. “Despite being in this very different role as a coach now, I still feel very comfortable being at high stress competitions, so I hope that that rubs off.”

Gina can be reached at [email protected] and @muelle30.