Michigan
Iowa
Weekly Release #7: at Iowa
2/23/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 27 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 7 p.m. CST
Saturday, Mar. 6 -- at Santa Barbara Invitational (Santa Barbara, Calif.), 7 p.m. PST
Wolverines On the Road to Iowa
The second-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team will travel to Iowa City to meet the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes, who are the NCAA runner-ups and defending Big Ten Champions, on Saturday (Feb. 27). The Wolverines have previously met the Hawkeyes as a team at the Windy City Open and individually at the Winter Cup Challenge. Iowa took top honors in Chicago (226.675) with Ohio State taking second (225.000) and Michigan in third (224.050).
Junior Hawkeye Todd Strada is leading his team this season with a ninth-place finish (51.950) at the Winter Cup Challenge and nationally ranked in second in the all-around (56.812) according to GymInfo National Rankings (Feb. 22). Strada is a member of the All-Big Ten team, a 1998 All-American on the pommel horse and in the all-around and Iowa's 1998 MVP.
No. 2 Michigan beats No. 10 Massachusetts
Second-ranked Michigan won the dual meet against 10th-ranked Massachusetts last Saturday (Feb. 20) in front of 523 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines posted their highest score under the direction of third-year head coach Kurt Golder with a team total of 229.275. The Minutemen finished the competition with a score of 220.150. Michigan increased its record to 7-4 with the non-conference win.
The Maize and Blue recorded team high scores for the season on the pommel horse (38.850) and the floor exercise (38.100). Freshman Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS) was a major contributor to the pommel horse record, as he scored a personal high of 9.850. As Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman (Wallingford, Conn./Lyman Hall HS) contributed a first-place score of 9.750 on the floor exercise.
Wolverines Remain Second in the Nation for Fourth Week in a Row
Entering the eighth week of competition, Michigan holds the second-place position in the GymInfo rankings (Feb. 22). This is the third consecutive week that the Wolverines have claimed No. 2, with a team average score of 227.725. Penn State is first with a score of 228.600.
NAGC/M Top 20 Rankings (2/22/99)
1. Penn State 228.600 2. MICHIGAN 227.725 3. Ohio State 227.712 4. Iowa 227.425 5. Illinois 226.237 6. Oklahoma 226.075 7. Michigan State 225.312 8. Nebraska 225.075 9. Illinois-Chicago 222.750 10. Brigham Young 222.550 11. UMass 222.325 12. California 221.825 13. Stanford 217.800 14. New Mexico 217.635 15. Air Force 216.750 16. Santa Barbara 215.600 17. Minnesota 215.262 18. Temple 214.650 19. William & Mary 214.300 20. Navy 212.650
Michigan's National Team Rankings
In all six events the Wolverines hold spots in the top five in the most recent GymInfo national ranking (Feb. 22). Michigan claims second place on the floor exercise (38.025) and on the parallel bars (38.487). The still rings are the third strongest event with a third-ranked score of 38.075. Michigan is ranked fourth on the vault (37.975) and the floor exercise (37.900) and fifth on the pommel horse (38.075).
Michigan's Individual National Rankings
Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman is ranked fourth on the parallel bars (9.762), seventh on the high bar (9.725) and ninth on the floor exercise in the GymInfo individual national rankings (Feb. 22). Freshman Scott Vetere follows Toman with a seventh-place ranking on the parallel bars (9.712) and tied for 10th on the vault (9.625). Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong holds fifth in the all-around with a 56.712 average. Sophomore Kenny Keener (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville HS) tied for seventh place in the rankings of the still rings with a 9.700.
Career Highs
Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong obtained three career-high scores in Michigan's last dual, Saturday (Feb. 20) against Massachusetts. Diaz-Luong received second-place finishes on the still rings (9.550), the vault (9.625) and the parallel bars (9.750). Diaz-Luong was not able to compete on the floor exercise due to injury, but had he scored a 9.200 or above in the event, he would have beat his career high in the all-around.
Junior LaLo Haro, sophomores Justin Toman and Kenny Keener and freshman Brad Kenna also had career highs against Massachusetts. Haro beat his career high on the pommel horse (9.700) and on the high bar (9.700), which increased his all-around score to 56.600. Toman recorded new career highs on the floor exercise (9.750) and on the vault (9.050). Keener received a personal-best score on the parallel bars (9.100), and Kenna took a 9.400 career high on the floor exercise.
Tracking Michigan in the Rankings
Preseason 9th Jan. 18 4th Jan. 25 2nd Feb. 1 2nd Feb. 8 2nd Feb. 15 2nd Feb. 22 2nd
National Rankings (2/22/99)
Team
Overall - 2nd, 227.725 avg.
Floor Exercise - 2nd, 38.025
Pommel Horse - 5th, 38.150
Still Rings - 4th, 38.250
Vault - 5th, 38.012
Parallel Bars - 2nd, 38.487
High Bar - 4th, 38.112
Individual (Top 20)
Daniel Diaz-Luong
Pommel Horse - T8th, 9.700
Parallel Bars - 9th, 9.688
High Bar - T14th, 9.675
All-Around - 5th, 56.712
LaLo Haro
Vault - T15th, 9.600
Parallel Bars - T17th, 9.575
All-Around - 14th, 56.150
Josh Levin
Pommel Horse - T15th, 9.650
Justin Toman
Floor Exercise - T9th, 9.675
Parallel Bars - 4th, 9.762
High Bar - 7th, 9.725
Kenny Keener
Still Rings - 7th, 9.700
Scott Vetere
Pommel Horse - 12th, 9.700
Vault - T10th, 9.625
Parallel Bars - 7th, 9.712
All-Around - 12th, 56.425
Players Mentioned
