Weekly Release #11
4/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sun., April 11-13 -- at NCAA Championships (Philadelphia, Pa.)
April 11 -- National Qualifier (Session 2), 7 p.m.
April 12 -- Team and All-Around Finals, 4 p.m.
April 13 -- Individual Event Finals, 2 p.m.
U-M in Search of Fourth National Title
The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team will be in search of its fourth national championship and first since 1999 when it travels to Philadelphia, Pa., for the NCAA Championships on Friday through Sunday (April 11-13). Michigan has finished in the top four the last four years -- including a national championship in 1999 -- under seventh-year head coach Kurt Golder. The Wolverines, one of 12 teams selected to compete at this year's NCAA Championships, will be competing in the second session of the national qualifying meet, which will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday (April 11) at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University.
Three teams and the top three all-around competitors not on one of the qualifying teams, plus the top three individuals on each event not already qualified on a team or as an all-around competitor will advance from each qualifying session to the team and all-around finals and individual event preliminaries on Saturday (April 12) at 4 p.m. The weekend will conclude on Sunday (April 13) at 2 p.m. with the individual event finals, where the top eight gymnasts from Saturday's competition will compete to be named the national champion.
Michigan vs. Session 2 Competitors
U-M will compete in the second national qualifying session on Friday (April 11) against five other schools, including No. 8 Illinois of the Big Ten. The other teams rounding out the second qualifier are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 California, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 11 Temple. The Maize and Blue will begin its quest for their fourth national championship on the parallel bars.
The Wolverines have squared off this year against all of the teams in the second qualifier except host Temple. U-M holds a 3-2 record over the teams in the second qualifier, including a perfect 2-0 record against Illinois. U-M placed ahead of Illinois at the Windy City Invitational (207.150-207.050, Jan. 13) and again at the Big Ten Championships (215.325-211.850, March 28). The Wolverines lost in their home opener to defending champ Oklahoma 214.275-208.650. U-M faced both Cal and Nebraska at the Stanford Invitational, edging out Nebraska 211.825-209.125 and falling to Cal 216.525-211.825.
Recapping the 2002 National Championships
The Wolverines finished in fourth place (215.050) at the 2002 NCAA Championships in Norman, Okla. The winner of last year's NCAA championship was host Oklahoma (219.300). The other schools finishing ahead of U-M in 2002 were Ohio State (218.650) and California (217.650). U-M was led in the 2002 NCAA championships by senior Daniel Diaz-Luong (1999-2002), who was crowned the NCAA champion for the horizontal bar and captured a third place finish on the parallel bars (8.875).
The Wolverines had two competitors on the still rings in the 2002 event finals with current senior Conan Parzuchowski capturing sixth (9.250) and then senior Justin Toman finishing seventh for the event (9.212). Current Wolverines Eddie Umphrey (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) and Kevin George (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) both participated in the event finals of the 2002 NCAA championships, both finished in seventh place for their respective events, Umphrey on vault (9.187) and George on pommel horse (8.775). Then senior Brad Kenna also competed in the event finals on horizontal bar (6.650) where he finished eighth for the event.
U-M All-Americans in 2003 NCAA
Michigan will have four NCAA All-Americans competing at the NCAA Championships. The Wolverines are led by nine-time All-American Scott Vetere (Pennsburg Pa./Quakertown HS), who was sidelined by injury during the 2002 season but captured All-America honors at the 2001 NCAA Championships on still rings (second), parallel bars (fifth), horizontal bar (sixth) and in the all-around (fourth). Conan Parzuchowski (Northville, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit HS) will try to capture his third straight NCAA All-America honors on the still rings. Senior Kris Zimmerman (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier HS) will be trying to capture his first NCAA All-American honors since 2001, while sophomore Kevin George is back after capturing All-American honors on the pommel horse in 2002.
Wolverines Finish Fourth at Big Ten Championships
The Maize and Blue captured fourth place at the 2003 Big Ten Championships on March 28 at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The Wolverines posted their highest score of the season (215.325) and matched their season best team score for the floor exercise (35.800). Five gymnasts advanced to Saturday's event finals.
Top Performers at the 2003 Big Ten Championships
Freshman Andrew DiGiore (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School) was the Wolverines' top performer at the 2003 Big Ten Championships. DiGiore captured a first-place finish on the vault (9.500) in Friday's (March 28) competition and again placed first in Saturday's (March 29) event finals (9.625). DiGiore was crowned Big Ten vault champion and garnered All-Big Ten honors.
Freshman Justin Laury (Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS) was also a key ingredient in the Wolverines attack as he finished in third place in the all-around competition (54.100). Laury qualified for the event finals on both horizontal bars and still rings, finishing third on horizontal bars (9.300) and seventh on still rings (9.150). Laury captured All-Big Ten honors along with being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The Maize and Blue captured two of the top three spots in the event finals on still rings as seniors Conan Parzuchowski (9.625) and Scott Vetere (9.500) captured second and third, respectively.
Senior Brian Peterson (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado HS) earned a spot in the event finals in Columbus after matching his season best on the pommel horse (9.200) to finish in fourth place in Friday's competition. Peterson finished in seventh place (8.400) in Saturday's event finals.
Hail to the Victors
In the latest GymInfo national rankings (March 31) the Wolverines climbed one spot to No. 5 with an NCAA qualifying average of 214.008. Michigan is currently ranked in the top 10 in five of the six events: pommel horse (fifth), still rings (third), vault (sixth), parallel bars (ninth), horizontal bar (seventh).
The Wolverines have three gymnasts ranked among the top ten individually: Conan Parzuchowski (still rings, tied for sixth), Andrew DiGiore (vault, third) and Justin Laury (all-around, eighth).
GymInfo National Rankings (3/31/03)
(by NCAA Average)
Rank, Team Score 1. Oklahoma 221.058 2. Penn State 219.017 3. Ohio State 217.958 4. California 214.550 5. MICHIGAN 214.008 6. Iowa 213.975 7. Minnesota 213.617 8. Stanford 213.092 Illinois 213.092 10. Nebraska 212.125 11. Temple 210.217 12. William & Mary 210.075
Individual Season Bests
| Name | FX | PH | SR | V | PB | HB | AA |
| Brian Berends | 8.700 | -- | -- | 9.000 | -- | 9.000 | -- |
| Luke Bottke | 9.050 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Geoff Corrigan | 8.950 | -- | 9.000 | 8.900 | 8.900 | 9.000 | -- |
| Derek Croad | 8.875 | -- | -- | 9.325 | -- | -- | -- |
| Devin Deer | -- | -- | 8.250 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Andrew DiGiore | -- | 8.250 | -- | 9.625 | -- | -- | -- |
| David Flannery | 8.650 | -- | -- | -- | 8.000 | 8.800 | -- |
| Chris Gatti | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Kevin George | 7.600 | 9.050 | 9.000 | -- | -- | 8.550 | -- |
| Andre Hernandez | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Jamie Hertza | 9.000 | 9.350 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Justin Laury | 9.025 | 9.200 | 9.450 | 9.200 | 8.750 | 9.300 | 54.200 |
| Conan Parzuchowski | 8.650 | -- | 9.725 | 9.050 | 9.000 | 8.550 | -- |
| Brian Peterson | -- | 9.200 | 8.600 | 8.950 | 8.500 | -- | -- |
| Gerry Signorelli | 8.900 | 8.925 | 8.350 | 9.075 | 8.950 | 9.000 | 52.700 |
| Brian Skvarla | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Eddie Umphrey | 8.950 | 8.500 | 9.200 | 9.350 | 8.250 | -- | -- |
| Scott Vetere | 9.150 | 9.250 | 9.500 | 9.100 | 9.000 | 8.250 | 52.150 |
| Kris Zimmerman | -- | -- | -- | -- | 8.650 | 8.950 | -- |
Season-Best Team Scores
| Event | Score | Date | Opponent | Site |
| Team Total | 215.325 | 3/28 | Big Ten Championships | Columbus, Ohio |
| Floor Exercise | 35.800 | 3/28 | Big Ten Championships | Columbus, Ohio |
| Pommel Horse | 36.075 | 2/15 | Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Still Rings | 37.050 | 3/15 | Ohio State | Columbus, Ohio |
| Vault | 36.800 | 2/2 | Illinois-Chicago | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Parallel Bars | 34.900 | 2/2 | Illinois-Chicago | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Horizontal Bar | 36.025 | 2/2 | Illinois-Chicago | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
Contact: Chris Kolesar (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
