Michigan
Maize and Blue Intrasquad
Blue Edges Maize as Newcomers Rise to the Occasion
12/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: Maize and Blue Intrasquad
Result: Blue 196.400, Maize 196.250
Attendance: 371
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 14 -- at Windy City Invitational (Chicago, Ill.), 7:00 p.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Led by a group of new faces, the Blue team triumphed over the Maize team during tonight's (Saturday, Dec. 17) annual University of Michigan men's gymnastics intrasquad competition. Freshmen and redshirt freshmen helped the Blue team secure its second consecutive victory by a score of 196.400-196.250.
The Blue team took the early lead on the floor exercise, led by sophomore Daniel Rais (Livonia, Mich./Franklin HS) and senior Gerry Signorelli (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mitchell HS), who each scored an 8.7. The Maize team was anchored by freshmen Jamie Thompson (Lakemont, Ga./Oconee County HS), who scored an 8.65, and Kent Caldwell (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin HS), who notched an 8.0.
The pommel horse saw the Maize team make up ground on the strong performances of junior/sophomore Andrew Elkind (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) and Andrew DiGiore (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School), who scored 8.9 and 8.4, respectively. Junior Aaron Rakes (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar HS) led the Blue team with an 8.4 of his own, just ahead of redshirt freshman Arren Yoshimura (Denver, Colo./George Washington HS), who posted a solid 8.1. After two events, the Blue team held a slight advantage of 65.20-64.95.
Moving to the still rings, freshmen led the way for each team. Phillip Goldberg (Ringgold, Ga./McCallie HS) from the Blue team and Joe Catrambone (Deptford, N.J./Gloucester Catholic HS) from the Maize team each scored an 8.7 to tie for first place on the event.
On the vault for the Maize team, two-time Big Ten Conference and former NCAA champion DiGiore recorded a 9.4, the night's highest score. Rais was second in the event with a 9.3 for the Blue team, followed by Signorelli, fellow senior Luke Bottke (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) and freshman Scott Bregman (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence Free State HS), who each scored an 8.9. After four events, the Blue team had widened its lead to 133.90-131.95.
In the fifth rotation on parallel bars, Elkind won his second event of the evening for the Maize team, posting an 8.7. The Blue team's Rakes was second with an 8.4, followed by freshman Ralph Rosso (Morganville, N.J./St. John Vianney HS) with an 8.3. After five events the Maize team had made up enough ground to lead the Blue team 164.65-164.50.
On high bar, the final event, Elkind recorded a solid 8.8 and Catrambone notched a 7.8 to pace the Maize team. These scores weren't enough to hold off the Blue team's Signorelli, who posted a stellar 9.0 to win the event and the all-around (48.60) and lead his team to the overall victory.
The Wolverines begin the regular season Saturday, Jan. 14, when they travel to Chicago, Ill., for the Windy City Invitational at 7 p.m. CST.
Final Team Standings
| Team Scores | FX | PH | SR | V | PB | HB | Total |
| 1. Blue | 34.10 | 31.10 | 32.70 | 36.00 | 31.90 | 30.60 | 196.400 |
| 2. Maize | 32.25 | 32.70 | 32.40 | 34.60 | 32.70 | 31.40 | 196.250 |
Event-By-Event Individual Leaders
FLOOR EXERCISE Gerry Signorelli, Blue 8.70 Daniel Rais, Blue 8.70 Jamie Thompson, Maize 8.65 POMMEL HORSE Andrew Elkind, Maize 8.90 Andrew DiGiore, Maize 8.40 Aaron Rakes, Blue 8.40 STILL RINGS Phillip Goldberg, Blue 8.70 Joe Catrambone, Maize 8.70 Aaron Rakes, Blue 8.30 VAULT Andrew DiGiore, Maize 9.40 Daniel Rais, Blue 9.30 Gerry Signorelli, Blue 8.90 Scott Bregman, Blue 8.90 Luke Bottke, Blue 8.90 PARALLEL BARS Andrew Elkind, Maize 8.70 Aaron Rakes, Blue 8.40 Ralph Rosso, Maize 8.30 HIGH BAR Gerry Signorelli, Blue 9.00 Andrew Elkind, Maize 8.80 Joe Catrambone, Maize 7.80 Ralph Rosso, Maize 7.80 ALL-AROUND Gerry Signorelli, Blue 48.60 Ralph Rosso, Maize 48.30 Joe Catrambone, Maize 47.90
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Kurt Golder
On how the newcomers to the team performed ... "The freshmen and redshirt guys competed as good, if not better, than expected tonight. We had 10 new faces in the lineup since last year. I see a lot of potential there."
Senior Gerry Signorelli
On competing with a large group of new team members ... "It was a great time to compete out there with everyone. This year the team chemistry really feels good and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves out there tonight."
Freshman Ralph Rosso
On competing for Michigan for the first time ... "I thought it was a really good competition and there was a lot of intensity. It was great to be competing not just for myself but for the team. It's a lot more important to fight for every tenth when you know your team is counting on you."
Players Mentioned
