Michigan
Maize and Blue Intrasquad (ex)
Corrigan, Rakes Lead Maize Team to Intrasquad Victory
12/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: Maize and Blue Intrasquad
Result: Maize 155.700, Blue 153.800
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 10 -- at Windy City Invitational (Chicago, Ill.), 7 p.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. --- The University of Michigan men's gymnastics team opened its 2003-04 season on Saturday night (Dec. 13) with the annual Maize and Blue Intrasquad at Cliff Keen Arena. The Maize team defeated the Blue team 155.700-153.800 with junior Geoff Corrigan (Colorado Springs, Colo./Palmer HS) of the Maize team winning the all-around with a score of 52.400.
Sophomore Luke Bottke (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) helped the Blue team early with a 9.200 on the floor exercise. That was the second highest mark on the floor, behind Corrigan's 9.400 which was the highest given in any event for the entire meet.
The Blue team held the early lead after two events behind a strong performance on the pommel horse by sophomore Justin Laury (Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS), who earned a score of 8.700. Laury won the event, edging out sophomore Andrew DiGiore (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School) of the Maize team. DiGiore scored an 8.500 to keep the Maize close in the early going.
Corrigan took home top honors on the still rings with a score of 8.950. The second and third spots went to the Blue squad's Gerry Signorelli (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mitchell HS) and Kevin George (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS). Signorelli and George earned scores of 8.600 and 8.500, respectively. Junior captain Chris Gatti (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford HS) tied George for third with a score of 8.500.
The Blue team held its lead after the vault despite two members of the Maize squad scoring over 9.000. Corrigan led the way once again with a 9.250, while junior teammate Eddie Umphrey (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) soared to a 9.150. Team Blue held the overall lead after the vault behind a score of 8.900 from redshirt freshman Andre Hernandez (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock HS).
The Maize team took control of the meet on the parallel bars by sweeping the top four spots. Freshman Aaron Rakes (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar HS) won the event with a score of 8.900, while teammates Corrigan (8.600), Gatti (8.500) and Umphrey (8.400) followed close behind. Rakes had a strong debut for the Wolverines, finishing third in the all-around (50.350).
Hernandez helped the Blue team win the high bar with a score of 8.900 but it was not enough to win the meet.
The Wolverines will open the regular season on Saturday, Jan. 10, when they participate in the Windy City Invitational at 7 p.m. CST in Chicago, Ill.
Final Team Standings
| Team | FX | PH | SR | V | PB | HB | Total |
| 1. Maize | 26.900 | 24.800 | 25.800 | 27.000 | 26.000 | 25.200 | 155.700 |
| 2. Blue | 26.300 | 25.400 | 25.200 | 26.400 | 24.400 | 26.100 | 153.800 |
Event-By-Event Individual Scores
FLOOR EXERCISE 1. Geoff Corrigan, Maize 9.400 2. Luke Bottke, Blue 9.200 3. Eddie Umphrey, Maize 8.800 Gerry Signorelli, Blue 8.800 5. Brian Berends, Maize 8.700 6. Derek Croad, Maize 8.600 7. Aaron Rakes, Maize 8.400 8. David Flannery, Blue 8.300 9. Andrew Elkind, Blue 8.200 10. Andre Hernandez, Blue 8.100 11. Brian Skvarla, Blue 8.000 POMMEL HORSE 1. Justin Laury, Blue 8.700 2. Andrew DiGiore, Maize 8.500 3. Kevin George, Blue 8.400 4. Gerry Signorelli, Blue 8.300 5. Geoff Corrigan, Maize 8.200 6. Aaron Rakes, Maize 8.100 7. Mike Nolte, Blue 8.000 Andre Hernandez, Blue 8.000 Eddie Umphrey, Maize 8.000 Brian Peterson, Maize 8.000 STILL RINGS 1. Geoff Corrigan, Maize 8.950 2. Gerry Signorelli, Blue 8.600 3. Kevin George, Blue 8.500 Chris Gatti, Maize 8.500 5. Devin Deer, Maize 8.350 6. Aaron Rakes, Maize 8.250 7. Andrew Elkind, Blue 8.100 8. Brian Skvarla, Blue 8.000 VAULT 1. Geoff Corrigan, Maize 9.250 2. Eddie Umphrey, Maize 9.150 3. Andre Hernandez, Blue 8.900 4. Gerry Signorelli, Blue 8.850 5. Luke Bottke, Blue 8.650 6. Chris Gatti, Maize 8.600 7. Brian Berends, Maize 8.550 8. Aaron Rakes, Maize 8.000 PARALLEL BARS 1. Aaron Rakes, Maize 8.900 2. Geoff Corrigan, Maize 8.600 3. Chris Gatti, Maize 8.500 4. Eddie Umphrey, Maize 8.400 5. Gerry Signorelli, Blue 8.300 6. David Flannery, Blue 8.100 7. Justin Laury, Blue 8.000 Andre Hernandez, Blue 8.000 Devin Deer, Maize 8.000 HIGH BAR 1. Andre Hernandez, Blue 8.900 2. Aaron Rakes, Maize 8.700 3. Kevin George, Blue 8.600 Gerry Signorelli, Blue 8.600 5. Chris Gatti, Maize 8.500 6. Justin Laury, Blue 8.200 7. David Flannery, Blue 8.000 Brian Berends, Maize 8.000 Geoff Corrigan, Maize 8.000 ALL-AROUND 1. Geoff Corrigan, Maize 52.400 2. Gerry Signorelli, Blue 51.450 3. Aaron Rakes, Maize 50.350
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Kurt Golder
On the team's performance ... "I'm pretty pleased with it. It's the first time out of the gate and a lot of these guys competed over the summer, but for many this was their first competition since NCAAs. I see good potential here and we have about four months to keep putting the polish on. I'm pretty psyched about what this team can do this year."
Players Mentioned
