Weekly Release #11
4/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Thu-Sat., April 7-9 -- at NCAA Championships (West Point, N.Y.)
April 7 -- National Qualifier, 1 p.m.
April 8 -- Team and All-Around Finals, 7 p.m.
April 9 -- Individual Event Finals, 7 p.m.
Looking Ahead to NCAA Championships
The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team travels to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., this week (April 7-9) to take on the top teams in the nation at the 2005 NCAA Championships.
The Wolverines will compete Thursday (April 7) at 1 p.m. in the first of two national qualifying competitions. The top three teams from each qualifying round will then move on to the Team Finals on Friday (April 8) at 7 p.m., where the 2005 national champion will be crowned as well as the all-around champion. The top eight individuals on each event (plus ties) will move on to compete in the Individual Event Finals on Saturday (April 9) at 7 p.m., where they will vie for individual national titles and All-America status. NCAA Championships on the Web: www.ncaasports.com.
Top 12 Teams at the NCAA Championships
The top 12 teams in the country and select individuals have qualified for the 2005 NCAA Championships using their National Qualifying Average score. The NQA is computed by selecting the four highest regular-season scores, counting no more than two home meets, with the highest of these scores then being dropped. The conference meet score will be doubled and added to the three remaining regular-season scores. The average of these five scores, which includes the doubled conference score, is the National Qualifying Average.
The following schools have qualified to the national qualifying competitions Thursday, April 7:
| Session 1 (1 p.m.) Ohio State (224.150) Michigan (220.925) Penn State (219.890) Stanford (216.230) Minnesota (215.935) William & Mary (210.200) | | Session 2 (7 p.m.) Illinois (222.905) Oklahoma (222.880) California (219.180) Iowa (218.650) Nebraska (215.755) Army (214.235) |
Last Year's NCAAs
In 2004, Penn State claimed the title of national champion for the second time in five years (also won in 2000) with a team score of 223.350. Oklahoma, which won back-to-back championships n 2002 and 2003, finished in the runner spot with a score of 222.300, followed by Illinois (222.225), Ohio State (221.350), Michigan (220.525) and California (220.325).
Penn State's Luis Vargas won the all-around in 2004 with a score of 56.475, just ahead of Stanford's Dan Gill (56.125) and Ohio State's Randy Monahan (55.725). Michigan placed two athletes in the top 10 in the all-around with Justin Laury earning All-America honors for his fifth place (54.675) and Geoff Corrigan notching 10th (53.275).
Michigan also placed five athletes in the individual event finals: Luke Bottke (floor), Corrigan (floor), Aaron Rakes (pommel horse), Gerry Signorelli (parallel bars) and Laury (high bar). Bottke and Rakes earned All-America status by placing fifth and seventh in their respective events.
Michigan at the NCAAs
The Michigan men's gymnastics team has won the NCAA championship three times, in 1963, 1970 and 1999. Head coach Kurt Golder has led his Wolverine squads to top-five finishes in each of the last six years. Michigan won the 1999 national title, was runner-up in 2000, placed fourth in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and was fifth in 2004.
Golder has produced five individual national champions, the most recent of which was in 2003 when then freshman Andrew DiGiore won the vaulting title. Daniel Diaz-Luong won the high bar in 2002 and Kris Zimmerman tied for the parallel bars title in 2000 with teammate Justin Toman, who also won the event in 1999. In his eight seasons Golder has guided 15 different gymnasts to 42 NCAA All-America citations.
Recapping the Big Ten Championships
Junior Justin Laury (Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS) captured the all-around crown to lead Michigan to third place (222.775) at the Big Ten Conference Championships on Friday (March 25) at Crisler Arena. Ohio State claimed the team title with 225.350, while Illinois took the runner-up spot with 224.125.
Laury broke his own school record in the all-around to become just the 10th Wolverine in program history to capture the Big Ten all-around crown. Leading the U-M scorers in the pommel horse and hitting career bests in the floor exercise and parallel bars, Laury accumulated an all-around score of 56.20, improving the U-M record by 0.15 points and bettering conference runner-up Justin Spring of Illinois by 0.625.
U-M gained the early advantage in the competition behind a record-breaking performance by junior Luke Bottke (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) in the floor exercise. The final Wolverine in the rotation, Bottke tallied a score of 9.575 to improve the U-M school record in the event -- set earlier in the season by Laury -- by 0.25 points. Laury and senior Eddie Umphrey (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) also earned career-high scores, matching the previous school record of 9.55. Junior Gerry Signorelli (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mitchell HS) rounded out U-M scoring in the event, opening the rotation with a 9.225, as Michigan posted a season-best 37.900 effort in the event.
On the pommel horse, freshman standout Paul Woodward (Tallahassee, Fla/Lawton Chiles HS) got the team going with a 9.30. Signorelli notched a solid 8.95 before Laury closed out the rotation on a high note with a 9.425, just .075 shy of his season best on the event. The Wolverines posted a score of 36.525 on the event.
The Wolverines carried that momentum to the rings with Umphrey matching his season best with a 9.65. Laury again closed out the event with a solid 9.40. Signorelli also added a strong 8.95 to the team score for a total of 36.80.
Michigan started the vault with authority when Bottke posted a 9.40, and freshman Daniel Rais (Livonia, Mich/Franklin HS) matched that mark with a 9.40 of his own. Umphrey and junior Andrew DiGiore (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors HS) put a stamp on the event, recording a 9.325 and 9.375, respectively. Michigan recorded the top vault team total of the night with a 37.50.
U-M boasted its second season-best performance of the evening in the parallel bars behind career bests by sophomore Andre Hernandez (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock HS) and Umphrey. Using clean form and explosive power, Hernandez led the Wolverines with a score of 9.40, improving his previous mark in the event by 0.15. Umphrey bettered his career parallel bars mark by 0.05 by recording a 9.20, and Laury added his second career mark of the night with a 9.225. The Wolverines' team score on the event was a 36.775.
In the final rotation, Michigan senior Dave Flannery (Niwot, Colo/Niwot HS) was the team's top performer with a 9.425, tying his personal best. Senior Brian Berends (Hudsonville, Mich/Hudsonville HS) followed with a 9.35, and Laury closed out the final routine of the evening with a 9.40. U-M finished with an event total of 37.275.
Individual Accolades at the Big Tens
The Big Ten individual event finals were held on Saturday (March 26) and featured the top eight gymnasts (plus ties) on each event from the previous night's competition. The Wolverines qualified eleven routines to the finals, a feat which they had not accomplished since 2001. Eddie Umphrey led the Wolverines by grabbing second place on floor (9.55), third on rings (9.662) and fifth on parallel bars (9.125). Luke Bottke was right behind Umphrey on the floor exercise in third place (9.512) and placed fifth in the vault (9.262).
Justin Laury placed in three event finals, grabbing seventh on floor (8.512), fifth on pommel horse (9.525) and seventh on parallel bars (9.012). Dan Rais placed third on vault (9.375) in his first Big Ten finals appearance, as did Andre Hernandez on the parallel bars (9.525). Dave Flannery was the final Wolverine to compete in the event finals, notching seventh place on the high bar (8.95).
Laury Named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year
Justin Laury was named this year's Big Ten Gymnast of the Year after his stellar winning all-around performance Friday (March 25) night where he posted a Michigan record of 56.20. He is just the second Wolverine to capture the all-around title and the honor of Gymnast of the Year during head coach Kurt Golder's tenure. Scott Vetere was the first to do so in 2000.
GymInfo National Rankings (3/28/05)
(by National Qualifying Average)
1. Ohio State 224.150 2. Illinois 222.905 3. Oklahoma 222.880 4. MICHIGAN 220.925 5. Penn State 219.890 6. California 219.180 7. Iowa 218.650 8. Stanford 216.230 9. Minnesota 215.935 10. Nebraska 215.755
Contact: Justin Toman (734) 936-8256
Players Mentioned
