Weekly Release #9
3/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, March 10 -- at Michigan State and vs. Iowa (East Lansing, Mich.), 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 16 -- vs. Michigan State (Crisler Arena), 7 p.m.
What's In Store for the Wolverines
The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to take on the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans and the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday (March 10) at 7:30 p.m. in the Jenison Field House.
This marks the first Big Ten Conference tri-meet for the 11-1 Wolverines. The Maize and Blue has not faced either team since the Windy City Invitational on Jan. 13. Michigan won the event with a score of 207.550, defeating the Hawkeyes (205.150) and the Spartans (201.350), who finished in fourth and sixth place, respectively.
Scouting the Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans are No. 5 in the nation in the latest rankings ... The Spartans have a busy week leading up to Saturday's showdown; they compete against Air Force and Stanford on Thursday (March 8) in Colorado Springs, Colo. ... Michigan State is led by Jonathon Plante, who is first in the nation on the pommel horse ... Michigan State on the Web: www.msuspartans.com.
Hunting the Hawkeyes
The University of Iowa is No. 6 in the most recent GymInfo ranking ... The Hawkeyes enter the tri-meet with a 6-6 record ... Iowa dominated Illinois-Chicago in its last meet (March 2), outlasting UIC 209.450-197.900 ... Iowa is ranked among the nation's top 10 in four events: the floor exercise, still rings, vault and high bar ... Iowa on the web: www.hawkeyesports.com.
Michigan Tops International Competition
The Wolverines concluded their spring break with a 213.100-205.600 defeat of the Spanish National Team on Saturday (March 3) in Madrid, Spain, with help from juniors Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS) and Daniel Diaz-Luong (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt HS) and a 1-2-3 finish in the all-around.
Vetere captured first-place honors on the still rings (9.550), vault (9.550) and parallel bars (9.050) en route to earning the all-around title with a score of 53.850. Diaz-Luong garnered second-place honors in the all-around (52.400), pommel horse (9.000) and high bar (9.000). Brad Kenna (Barberton, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit HS) rounded out Michigan's 1-2-3 sweep of the all-around with a third-place finish and a score of 52.250. Assisting Kenna's score was a second-place finish on the parallel bars (8.850) and fourth-place finishes on the floor exercise (8.800), vault (9.100) and high bar (8.750).
Roulston to Sit for Remainder of Season
Senior tri-captain Kevin Roulston (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township HS) will sit for the rest of the 2001 season after tearing his ACL during warm-ups at the Feb. 3 meet against Penn State. The 1998 Big Ten Freshman of the Year has received three first-place honors this season, including the all-around title at the Jan. 26 meet against Illinois with a 52.150. Until his injury at Penn State, Roulston had been the lone Wolverine competing in the all-around competition.
Vetere Standing Strong
Junior All-American Scott Vetere earned the fourth Big Ten Conference Gymnast of the Week award of his career and the second of the season on Feb. 18. Michigan's 2000 co-Male Athlete of the Year and 2000 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year has already gained one weekly honor (Jan. 31) and holds 11 first-place event titles. Vetere, who already holds six of the seven school records, holds six of the 2001 season bests for the Wolverines.
| Pommel Horse | 9.450 | vs. Oklahoma/UMass (Feb. 18) |
| Still Rings | 9.650 | vs. Oklahoma/UMass (Feb. 18) |
| Vault | 9.550 | at Spanish National Team (March 3) |
| Parallel Bars | 9.250 | vs. Oklahoma/UMass (Feb. 18) |
| High Bar | 9.525 | vs. Oklahoma/UMass (Feb. 18) |
| All-Around | 54.600 | vs. Oklahoma/UMass (Feb. 18) |
Wolverines Stand Strong in Second
For the second consecutive week, the Wolverines are ranked as the No. 2 team in the nation. With a two-score average of 214.637, Michigan is nearly two points ahead of third ranked Illinois. The Wolverines continue to dominate the nation on the pommel horse and parallel bars, while ranking second on the vault. Rounding out the separate apparatuses are three third place rankings on the floor exercise, still rings and high bar.
Big Ten teams hold seven of the top 10 spots in the team rankings -- No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Michigan State, No. 6 Iowa, No. 8 Penn State and No. 10 Minnesota. Throughout January, the national rankings were based on the highest single meet score for each team. The rankings are currently based upon the highest two-meet average, and will move to the Regional Qualifying Average by mid-March.
GymInfo National Rankings (3/5/01)
(by Highest Two-Meet Average)
1. Oklahoma 215.400 2. MICHIGAN 214.637 3. Illinois 212.025 4. Ohio State 211.675 5. Michigan State 210.037 6. Iowa 208.525 7. California 208.300 8. Penn State 206.800 9. Massachusetts 206.200 10. Minnesota 204.975
Individual Gymnasts Ranked Nationally
Individually the Wolverines continue to be among the top of the nation's elite. Scott Vetere leads the way for the Wolverines with third-place rankings on the pommel horse and parallel bars, as well as a fifth-place ranking on the still rings. Brad Kenna follows close behind, ranking fifth on the parallel bars. Rounding out the list of Wolverines among the GymInfo top five is sophomore Kris Zimmerman (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier HS), who is ranked third in the all-around.
Contact: Valerie Perkin (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
