Weekly Release #11

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, March 17 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 5 p.m.
Fri.-Sat., March 30-31 -- at Big Ten Championships (Minneapolis, Minn.), 7 p.m. CDT

This Week: Regular-Season Finale
The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team (13-3, 8-0 Big Ten) closes out its regular season by facing No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday (March 17). The meet is slated for a 5 p.m. start in St. John Arena.

Scouting the Opponent
A look at the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes: The Buckeyes are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation according to the GymInfo Rankings; OSU began its season ranked third in the preseason coaches poll. Ohio State is coming off a 213.000-212.300 loss to No. 7-ranked California. The Buckeyes' biggest win of the season was against then-No. 3-ranked; OSU handed the Sooners their first home loss in seven years.

Under Head Coach Miles Avery: Avery, the 2001 National Coach of the Year and a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, has led the Buckeyes to one NCAA Championship title and four Big Ten titles. Currently in his 10th year at the helm of the OSU program, Avery has produced three NCAA all-around championship titles, seven NCAA individual event champions and 17 All-Americans. In 2006 -- despite not making the NCAA Championships -- Avery and the Buckeyes finished the season 10-1 and defended their 2005 Big Ten Championship title. For more information on Ohio State athletics, visit http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com.

All-Access
Live video of the duel-meet between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes will be available via the internet on All-Access. For more information please visist http://all-access.cstv.com.

Last Week: Wolverines Defeat No. 6 Illinois in Home Finale
In U-M's regular-season home finale, the No. 1-ranked University of Michigan mens gymnastics team defeated the No. 6-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini 216.350-212.500 Saturday (March 10) in Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines were led by sophomore Scott Bregman (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence Free State HS), who earned the final Newt Loken Award of the year, posting the meets highest-score (9.650). The Maize and Blue took home four individual and team event titles on the evening. U-M increased its duel-meet record this season to 5-0.

First-Ever Event Titles
Freshmen DJ Chan and Mel Santander earned their first event titles, assisting U-M to a win over Illinois. On the pommel horse, Chan scored a personal-record of 9.000 to earn his first-ever title in the event. Santander posted a 9.150 on the p-bars to earn a share of his first career title, scoring 0.150 points shy of his career best.

Michigan's 2006-07 Title Count (Includes Ties for First Place)

Floor Exercise
Scott Bregman (2)
Kent Caldwell (5)

Pommel Horse
DJ Chan (1)
Justin Laury (2)

Rings
Andrew Elkind (1)
Ralph Rosso (2)

Vault
Scott Bregman (1)
Daniel Rais (1)

Parallel Bars
Andrew Elkind (4)
Mel Santander (1)

High Bar
Joe Catrambone (2)
Andrew Elkind (3)
Justin Laury (1)

NCAA Top Five Averages (through 3/12/07)

Floor Exercise 1. MICHIGAN (37.867) 2. Oklahoma (37.783) 3. Ohio State (37.283) 4. Illinois (37.150) 5. Penn State (37.117) Pommel Horse  1. Penn State (36.233) 2. MICHIGAN (35.617) 3. Ohio State (35.467) 4. Stanford (35.383) 5. Oklahoma (34.383) Rings 1. Penn State (37.867) 2. Ohio State (37.767) 3. MICHIGAN (37.633) 4. Stanford (37.600) 5. California (37.283) Vault 1. Oklahoma (35.867) 2. Minnesota (35.767) 3. Illinois (35.717) 4. Penn State (35.617) 5. MICHIGAN (35.333) Parallel Bars 1. MICHIGAN (37.017) 2. Ohio State (36.967) 3. Penn State (36.667) 4. California (36.483) 5. Oklahoma (36.433) High Bar 1. MICHIGAN (37.017) 2. Penn State (36.983) 3. Stanford (36.817) 4. Oklahoma (36.683) 5. Ohio State (36.050)

Wolverines Sitting on Top of the Nation
NCAA Top 20 Averages (through 3/12/07)

Floor Exercise 2. Kent Caldwell (9.683) 3. Scott Bregman (9.667) 7. Ralph Rosso (9.467) 15. Jamie Thompson (9.400) Pommel Horse  4. Justin Laury (9.133) t15. Mel Santander (8.917) t15. Paul Woodward (8.917) Rings 3. Ralph Rosso (9.633) 9. Andrew Elkind (9.517) 17. Aaron Rakes (9.400) Vault 10. Daniel Rais (8.983) Parallel Bars 1. Andrew Elkind (9.667) 6. Justin Laury (9.467) t11. Mel Santander (9.267) 18. Torrance Laury (9.167) High Bar t5. Andrew Elkind (9.317) t5. Justin Laury (9.317) 8. Joe Catrambone (9.300) 12. Aaron Rakes (9.233)

2007 GymInfo Rankings (3/12/07)
Michigan defeated No. 6 Illinois 216.350-212.500 to remain ranked No. 1 in the GymInfo rankings; U-M has a total season average of 218.717. This is Michigan's eighth-straight week on top of the rankings after starting the season ranked No. 8.

Rank, Team Total Season Average  1. MICHIGAN 218.717 2. Penn State 218.033 3. Ohio State 216.867 4. Stanford 216.733 
 5. Oklahoma 216.667&nbsp; 
 6. Minnesota 214.000&nbsp; 
 7. Illinois 213.650 
 8. California 212.733 
 9. Iowa&nbsp; 207.517 
10. Nebraska&nbsp; 205.900&nbsp; 
11. Army 203.900&nbsp; 
12. Illinois-Chicago 203.133&nbsp; 
13. Temple 203.033&nbsp; 
14. William & Mary&nbsp; 199.167&nbsp; 
15. Navy 198.000&nbsp; 
16. Air Force Academy 194.550&nbsp; 
17. Springfield 187.000&nbsp; 
18. M.I.T. 182.017 
19. Arizona State 176.300 
20. Texas 167.517&nbsp; 
21. James Madison 164.600

On the Horizon
The Wolverines will begin post-season action, heading to Minneapolis, Minn., to compete in the Big Ten Championships Friday-Saturday (March 30-31) hosted by the University of Minnesota. The two-day meet will be held at the Sports Pavilion; both days will begin at 7 p.m. CDT.

Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423