Michigan Qualifies for NCAA Championships Team Finals

Thursday, April 12

State College, Pa.

1:00 PM

Michigan

NCAA National Qualifier

Michigan Qualifies for NCAA Championships Team Finals

4/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Led by senior/junior co-captain Andrew Elkind's (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East HS) 9.050 parallel bars performance, the University of Michigan men's gymnastics team (18-10 overall, 10-4 Big Ten) posted a 215.350 to advance to the Super Six, taking third place in its national qualifying session Thursday (April 12) at the 2007 NCAA Championships held at Penn State's Rec Hall. Stanford won the session (216.350) with Illinois in second (216.300).

Heading into the final rotation -- the p-bars -- the Maize and Blue was more than one point behind then-third place Ohio State. Junior/sophomore Paul Woodward (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles HS) opened the rotation with a sixth-place score of 8.950. With a few more U-M scores below 9.000, Elkind needed to hit at least a 9.000 for Michigan to advance. With a strong performance and a good dismount, the senior/junior Wolverine posted a fourth-place score of 9.050.

In the first rotation, the Maize and Blue started off on the high bar, tallying a team score of 35.750 to finish second. Sophomore Joe Catrambone (Deptford, N.J./Gloucester Catholic HS) posted the Wolverine's highest score on the event, tying his season-best of 9.450 to finish in second place. Elkind earned U-M's second-highest score, grabbing an 8.950 to tie for fourth.

The Wolverines opened the second rotation on the floor exercise, posting a team score of 37.150. U-M came out of the gate quickly, tallying a running score of 72.900 after two rotations. Sophomore Jamie Thompson (Lakemont, Ga./Oconee County HS) tied for third with a career-best score of 9.500, while junior Daniel Rais (Livonia, Mich./Franklin HS) finished tied for ninth with a 9.300.

Despite having a bye in the third rotation, the Maize and Blue struggled on the pommel horse in the fourth rotation, posting a team score of 34.250. Woodward finished with U-M's highest scored routine, an 8.800 to tie for sixth place.

Heading into the still rings, U-M's fifth rotation event, Michigan had a running score of 107.150 and sat in fifth place. On the rings, the Wolverines tallied a team score of 37.400, moving to third place with a running score of 144.550. Elkind led U-M, scoring a 9.550 to tie for fifth place. Sophomore Ralph Rosso (Morganville, N.J./St. John Vianney HS) closed the rotation with a 13th place score of 9.350.

The Wolverines competed on the vault in the sixth rotation, scoring a team total of 35.450, increasing their running total to 180.000. Caldwell opened the U-M line up with the highest Wolverine score, earning a career-best of 9.000 placing fifth. Freshman DJ Chan (Singapore, Singapore/Hale School HS) closed the rotation with U-M's second-highest score, tallying an 8.900 in his first-ever vault competition.

The top three teams from session I (Stanford, Illinois, U-M) will join the top three teams (Penn State, Oklahoma and Minnesota) from the evening session in Friday's (April 13) Team Finals at Rec Hall in State College, Pa., at 7 p.m. to vie for the title of national champion.

Final Team Standings

Team Scores	FX	PH	SR	V	PB	HB	Total
1. Stanford	37.150	35.600	38.250	35.500	34.000	35.850	216.350
2. Illinois	37.950	34.700	37.750	35.350	34.850	35.700	216.300
3. MICHIGAN	37.150	34.250	37.400	35.450	35.350	35.750	215.350
4. Ohio State	36.500	34.900	37.950	35.450	36.850	33.600	215.250
5. Iowa	36.650	33.850	36.650	33.700	34.000	34.650	209.500
6. Army	34.300	29.850	32.600	32.450	32.800	32.800	194.800

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

FLOOR EXERCISE Mel Santander 9.100 Ralph Rosso 8.600 Jamie Thompson 9.500 Daniel Rais 9.300 Kent Caldwell 9.250 Justin Laury 8.750 POMMEL HORSE Ralph Rosso 7.900 Mel Santander 6.900 Paul Woodward 8.800 DJ Chan 8.500 Justin Laury 8.550 Andrew Elkind 8.400 STILL RINGS Joe Catrambone 9.150 Torrance Laury 9.250 Aaron Rakes 9.250 Andrew Elkind 9.550 Ralph Rosso 9.350 VAULT Kent Caldwell 9.000 Daniel Rais 8.600 Ralph Rosso 8.850 Torrance Laury 8.600 Justin Laury 8.700 DJ Chan 8.900 PARALLEL BARS Ralph Rosso 8.700 Paul Woodward 8.950 Mel Santander 8.650 Torrance Laury 8.400 Justin Laury 7.450 Andrew Elkind 9.050 HORIZONTAL BAR Daniel Rais 8.450 Mel Santander 8.650 Aaron Rakes 8.700 Justin Laury 8.300 Andrew Elkind 8.950 Joe Catrambone 9.450