Weekly Release #3
1/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Jan. 27 -- at Oklahoma (Norman, Okla.), 7 p.m.
Fri-Sat., Feb. 3-4 -- at Winter Cup (Las Vegas), 3 p.m./8 p.m.
What's Ahead for the Wolverines
The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team heads west to Norman, Oklahoma Friday (Jan. 27) to face the preseason No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The following weekend (Fri-Sat., Feb. 3-4) a group of Wolverines will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete for individual honors in the USA Gymnastics-sponsored Winter Cup.
Scouting the Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are currently ranked No. 2 in the nation with an average score of 209.500 and were ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll. These high rankings should come as no surprise, as they were the 2005 NCAA champions. The Sooners also won NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003 and were runner-up in 2004.
Despite Oklahoma's dominance in recent post-seasons, Michigan has had its share of victories against the Sooners in dual meet competitions. Last year Oklahoma was ranked No. 1 in the preseason and came to Cliff Keen Arena (Jan. 22) heavily favored. The Wolverines rose to the occasion however, and upset Oklahoma 222.275-219.050. Michigan also beat Oklahoma in 2001, but lost to the Sooners in 2002 and 2003.
The Sooners have several returning All-Americans on their roster, including senior Jamie Henderson (rings), freshman Jacob Messina (floor), and sophomores Jonathan Horton (AA, high bar, floor, vault, rings) and Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons (AA, parallel bars).
Oklahoma on the Web: www.soonersports.com.
The National Rankings
The Michigan gymnastics team moved to sixth place in the most recent national rankings, with a season average score of 206.925. The Big Ten Conference retains its dominance as the nation's strongest conference by having all six of its men's gymnastics programs in the top ten. Ohio State is ranked first, followed by Illinois (third), Iowa (fifth), Penn State (seventh), and Minnesota (ninth).
Until February 13th teams will be ranked according to the average of all of their posted scores. After that date, rankings will be determined using a modified three-score average approach, which accounts for home, away, and post-season scores. GymInfo Poll on the Web: www.troester.com.
GymInfo National Rankings (1/23/2006)
1. Ohio State 211.650 2. Oklahoma 209.500 3. Illinois 208.900 4. Stanford 207.137 5. Iowa 207.025 6. Michigan 206.925 7. Penn State 206.167 8. California 205.987 9. Minnesota 202.775 10. Navy 200.075
Recapping the loss to Penn State
Senior Gerry Signorelli (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mitchell HS) led the Wolverines' charge against then No. 8-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions by placing second all-around (51.00) and third on pommel horse (8.6), parallel bars (8.2) and high bar (8.75). Michigan's effort fell short however, and Penn State defeated the Wolverines 209.4-206.45 last Saturday (Jan. 21) night at Cliff Keen Arena.
Freshman Joe Catrambone (Deptford, N.J./Gloucester Catholic HS) recorded the evening's highest score on a stellar high bar performance which earned him a 9.55 from the judges and feverish cheers from the crowd of 1,011 on hand. Catrambone also placed second on the rings with a score of 9.15.
Other highlights from the competition included senior Andrew DiGiore (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School) and sophomore Daniel Rais (Livonia, Mich./Franklin HS) tying for first place on vault with a 9.35, and senior Luke Bottke (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) winning the floor exercise with a 9.1.
Despite taking the top spot on three events, the Wolverines struggled on the pommel horse (33.55) and parallel bars (32.15), having several gymnasts fall on each. These will be key areas of improvement as the team heads into the core of its regular season competitions.
Individual Rankings
Several Wolverines are now ranked nationally on the basis of their performances in the first two meets of the season. Luke Bottke is ranked eighth in the nation on the floor exercise with an average score of 8.925, just ahead of sophomore Daniel Rais, who is tied for tenth with an 8.875.
Gerry Signorelli is ranked seventh on pommel horse with an 8.60 and eighth on high bar with an 8.925. The vault has DiGiore and Rais tied for fifth with a 9.275. Catrambone is the highest ranked Wolverine, notching third on high bar with a 9.225 average.
In the all-around, Signorelli has risen to seventh with an average of 51.00, just ahead of Catrambone in ninth with a 50.300.
Contact: Justin Toman (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
