Laury Fifth in NCAA All-Around; Michigan Finishes Sixth

Friday, April 8

West Point, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Michigan

NCAA Team and All-Around Finals

Laury Fifth in NCAA All-Around; Michigan Finishes Sixth

4/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Junior Justin Laury (Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS) grabbed fifth place (55.45) in the all-around and All-America honors for the third consecutive year as he led the University of Michigan men's gymnastics team to sixth place with a 219.775 at the NCAA Championships today (Friday, April 8) at the U.S. Military Academy's Holleder Center. Oklahoma (225.675) won its third team title in four years, followed by Ohio State (225.450) in second and Illinois (223.750) in third.

Penn State's Luis Vargas repeated as all-around champion (57.175) followed by Ohio State's Randy Monahan (56.55) and Oklahoma's Jonathan Horton (56.425). Michigan's Geoff Corrigan finished in a tie for 13th (51.725).

A rowdy crowd packed the Holleder Center as Michigan began the competition on high bar with a hit routine and a stuck dismount from senior Dave Flannery (Niwot, Colo./Niwot HS) to score a 9.20. Junior Gerry Signorelli (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mitchell HS) was next with a smooth routine until a fall on his dismount dropped him to an 8.50. Senior Brian Berends (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville HS) notched a solid 9.00 followed by sophomore Andre Hernandez (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock HS), who struggled slightly for an 8.60. Senior Geoff Corrigan (Colorado Springs, Colo./Palmer HS) was next but two missed release moves dropped his score to a 7.15. Laury closed out the first rotation on a high note with a great routine complete with an intricate one-arm giant swing combination and stuck dismount for a 9.50. Michigan tallied a 36.30 on its first event to begin the evening in fifth place.

Following a bye rotation, floor exercise leadoff man Signorelli notched a solid score of 9.325. Freshman Daniel Rais (Livonia, Mich./Franklin HS) was next with an 8.90, followed by senior Eddie Umphrey (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS), whose powerful tumbling brought him a 9.525. Corrigan was next but struggled with landings to muster an 8.85 before Laury hit a clean set for a 9.30. Junior Luke Bottke (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) closed out the third rotation with a seemingly effortless routine and stuck dismount for a 9.375. Michigan remained in fifth place after three rotations with a 73.825.

Moving to the pommel horse sophomore Andre Hernandez (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock HS) swung his way through a clean routine for an 8.925. Sophomore Aaron Rakes (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar HS) followed with a 9.05 before freshman Paul Woodward (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles HS) and Corrigan struggled with falls to record an 8.00 and a 7.75, respectively. Junior Andrew DiGiore (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School) was next and fought for every tenth of a point to record an 8.40. Laury was last and displayed his trademark consistency and extended circles to garner a 9.10. After three events, the Wolverines were in sixth place with a 109.300.

With the noise in the arena reaching raucous levels and the tension mounting, Michigan moved to still rings, where Rakes posted an 8.60. Hernandez was next and notched a season-best 8.65 to set up Signorelli's 8.85. The Wolverines' three dependable strongmen closed out a strong rotation with Corrigan posting a 9.325, Umphrey notching a 9.525 and Laury recording a 9.30. After four events Michigan had tallied a 146.35.

In the sixth rotation Bottke got the team off to a strong start on the vault with a near-perfect stuck landing for a 9.55. Rais followed with a sky-high double twisting vault and a step on the landing for 9.225, while Corrigan and Umphrey struggled to find their landings and each posted a 9.075. Laury was next and managed to recover from a slightly low landing on his vault to record a solid 9.25. DiGiore under-rotated his two-and-a-half twisting vault, taking two steps backward to muster only a 9.00. With one rotation to go, Michigan was in sixth place with a 183.45.

On the final event, parallel bars, Flannery led off with a clean routine until two steps on the dismount dropped him to an 8.675. Signorelli suffered a fall for an 8.20, with Umphrey fighting through his routine to tally an 8.475. Laury was next and notched a clean 9.00 to finish a solid all-around effort. Hernandez had a smooth set going and despite a fall on his dismount recieved a 9.125. Corrigan was Michigan's final competitor of the evening, swinging his way to a 9.525 to end the meet.

Three Wolverines will return to action Saturday (April 9) at 7 p.m. in the Individual Event Finals with six event titles and All-America status on the line. Umphrey qualified fifth on the floor, Bottke qualified in a tie for first on vault and Corrigan qualified sixth on the parallel bars.

Final Team Standings

Team Scores	FX	PH	SR	V	PB	HB	Total
1. Oklahoma	37.475	37.150	38.700	37.275	37.250	37.825	225.675
2. Ohio State	37.450	37.225	38.375	36.875	36.675	38.850	225.450
3. Illinois	37.025	35.975	37.800	37.400	37.300	38.250	223.750
4. Penn State	36.100	36.650	37.925	37.175	37.125	37.425	222.400
5. California	36.850	36.475	38.100	36.800	36.025	37.825	222.075
6. MICHIGAN	37.525	35.475	37.050	37.100	36.325	36.300	219.775

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

FLOOR EXERCISE Gerry Signorelli 9.325 Dan Rais 8.90 Eddie Umphrey 9.525 (5) Geoff Corrigan 8.85 Justin Laury 9.30 Luke Bottke 9.375 POMMEL HORSE Andre Hernandez 8.925 Aaron Rakes 9.05 Paul Woodward 8.00 Geoff Corrigan 7.75 Andrew DiGiore 8.40 Justin Laury 9.10 STILL RINGS Aaron Rakes 8.60 Andre Hernandez 8.65 Gerry Signorelli 8.85 Geoff Corrigan 9.375 Eddie Umphrey 9.525 Justin Laury 9.30 VAULT Luke Bottke 9.55 (1t) Daniel Rais 9.225 Geoff Corrigan 9.075 Eddie Umphrey 9.075 Justin Laury 9.25 Andrew DiGiore 9.00 PARALLEL BARS Dave Flannery 8.675 Gerry Signorelli 8.20 Eddie Umphrey 8.475 Justin Laury 9.00 Andre Hernandez 9.125 Geoff Corrigan 9.525 (6) HORIZONTAL BAR Dave Flannery 9.20 Gerry Signorelli 8.50 Brian Berends 9.00 Andre Hernandez 8.60 Geoff Corrigan 7.15 Justin Laury 9.50 ALL-AROUND Justin Laury 55.450 (5) Geoff Corrigan 51.725 (13)