Men's Gymnastics Eighth in Preseason Coaches Poll
12/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's gymnastics team is the No. 8-ranked team in the 2007 GymInfo preseason coaches poll, it was announced Tuesday (Dec. 5).
Oklahoma, the 2006 NCAA champion, is the preseason No. 1-ranked squad for the third consecutive year. The Big Ten has all six of its squads ranked in the top 10 for the second year in a row, with Ohio State as the highest-ranked conference school in third place, followed by No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 Illinois, No. 7 Iowa, Michigan and No. 9 Minnesota.
Head coach Kurt Golder's 2006 Wolverines finished fourth in the Big Ten Championships and at the NCAA Qualifiers.
"Thats where I anticipated them ranking us," said Golder. "I anticipated it since thats where we finished at the NCAA Tournament last year. A thing that a lot of the coaches are unaware of is that we redshirted several guys last year. This year we not only have a strong freshman class, but we also have a pretty good redshirt group. So thats kind of like having two freshman classes in the same year. We have high expectations, and if we finish eighth this year, I would be highly disappointed."
The Wolverines begin the 2007 season with the annual Maize and Blue Intrasquad on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena.
2007 GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank, Team (1st-Place Votes) 1. Oklahoma (9) 2. Stanford (1) 3. Ohio State 4. California (1) 5. Penn State (2) 6. Illinois 7. Iowa 8. MICHIGAN 9. Minnesota (1) 10. Nebraska 11. University of Ill-Chicago 12. Temple 13. William Mary 14. Army 15. NavyContact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
