Michigan
Minnesota
Wolverines Defeat Minnesota, Give Golder 150th Victory
2/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team defeated the No. 9-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers Saturday (Feb. 14) with a score of 214.600-209.350 at Cliff Keen Arena. Throughout the meet there were several lead changes between the two teams, but Michigan finished strong, winning the final three events. The win marked Michigan head coach Kurt Golder's 150th victory in his eight years at the helm.
Leading the way for the Wolverines was junior Eddie Umphrey (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS), who won the still rings (9.35) and parallel bars (9.00) and placed second on the vault (9.475) and third on the floor (9.10). Right behind Umphrey was sophomore Justin Laury (Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS), who won the high bar (9.35) and placed second on the rings (9.15) and third on the parallel bars (8.75). Andrew DiGiore (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School), the 2003 NCAA vault champion, turned in another clutch performance on that event by almost sticking his landing and posting the top score (9.55) of the night on any event. DiGiore also performed well on the pommel horse, placing third (8.70).
Other key performances came from freshman Aaron Rakes (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar HS), who placed second on the high bar (9.25) and parallel bars (8.875), and junior Brian Berends (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville HS), who tied Rakes for the No. 2 spot on the high bar (9.25). Sophomore Luke Bottke (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) added to Michigan's depth by placing second on the floor exercise (9.20).
New faces to the Wolverine lineup for this competition included sophomore Gerry Signorelli (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mitchell HS) and freshman Michael Nolte (Troy, Mich./Athens HS). This was the first time either athlete saw action this season. Absent from the competition was standout redshirt freshman Andre Hernandez (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock HS). Hernandez, Michigan's most consistent performer thus far into the season, sat out due to an aggravated knee injury.
The Wolverines travel to Norman, Okla., next Saturday (Feb. 21) to face the defending NCAA champion Oklahoma Sooners along with Nebraska and Minnesota. Michigan returns home on Saturday, March 13 (7 p.m.) to host No. 1-ranked Ohio State.
Final Team Standings
| Team Scores | FX | PH | SR | V | PB | HB | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 36.100 | 33.950 | 35.550 | 37.275 | 34.875 | 36.850 | 214.600 |
| 2. Minnesota | 35.300 | 34.900 | 34.650 | 36.775 | 33.925 | 33.800 | 209.350 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
FLOOR EXERCISE Brian Berends 8.200 Gerry Signorelli 9.050 (4) Luke Bottke 9.200 (2) Aaron Rakes 8.400 Geoff Corrigan 8.750 (5) Eddie Umphrey 9.100 (3) POMMEL HORSE Aaron Rakes 8.550 (5) Gerry Signorelli 8.400 Andrew DiGiore 8.700 (3) Michael Nolte 8.300 Geoff Corrigan 7.850 Justin Laury 7.600 STILL RINGS Andrew Elkind 8.200 Devin Deer 7.850 Aaron Rakes 8.300 Justin Laury 9.150 (2) Kevin George 8.750 (5) Eddie Umphrey 9.350 (1) VAULT Brian Berends 8.925 Gerry Signorelli 9.050 Luke Bottke 9.200 (5) Geoff Corrigan 8.950 Eddie Umphrey 9.475 (2) Andrew DiGiore 9.550 (1) PARALLEL BARS Andrew Elkind 8.250 Geoff Corrigan 7.200 Eddie Umphrey 9.000 (1) Aaron Rakes 8.875 (2) Devin Deer 6.650 Justin Laury 8.750 (3) HIGH BAR Brian Berends 9.250 (2t) Gerry Signorelli 9.000 (4) Geoff Corrigan 8.850 (5) Aaron Rakes 9.250 (2t) Justin Laury 9.350 (1) ( ) denotes place in Top 5
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Kurt Golder
On his team's performance ... "The most consistent athlete we've had this year has been Andre Hernandez. So far he's competed in 22 events and he's 22 for 22 on the season. He woke up this morning and had trouble putting weight on his knee, so we went with a weaker lineup. I was a little worried about that. Unfortunately, some of our guys didn't come through for us. So that was kind of a double wammy. Minnesota did a great job with their team. Even though we didn't have our best meet, we did come through (with a win). But in the middle of the meet we were thinking. 'Oh no, here we go.'"
On facing NCAA champion Oklahoma next week ... "We're going to be in full force next weekend when we take on Oklahoma. They are the defending national champions. That's part of the reason we rested Andre this week. We want him to compete in the all-around next week."
Contact: Justin Toman, Matt Godfrey (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
