Weekly Release #13
4/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Thu-Sat., April 12-14 -- at NCAA Championships (State College, Pa.)
This Week: NCAA Championships
The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team (15-8, 10-4 Big Ten) is set to compete in the NCAA Championships in State College, Pa., hosted by Penn State University Thursday through Saturday (April 12-14). The three-day meet will be held at the Recreation Hall, with the Wolverines competing as the No. 5-seed in session I at 1 p.m. on Thursday (April 12). Last year, the Wolverines finished fourth in the qualifying rounds, missing the NCAA team finals by 5.05 points.
Michigan will join Ohio State, Stanford, Illinois, Iowa and Army in the first national qualifying session at 1 p.m., while Oklahoma, Penn State, Minnesota, California, Temple and Nebraska will compete in the other session at 7 p.m. The top three teams and the top three all-around and individual event competitors from each session will advance to the Team Finals on Friday, April 13 (7 p.m.), where the NCAA team champion and all-around champion will be determined.
Friday's top eight individuals on each event (plus ties) will then advance to the Individual Event Finals competition on Saturday, April 14 (7 p.m.).
Last Meet: Wolverines Finished Fourth at Big Ten ChampionshipsThe University of Michigan men's gymnastics team finished in fourth place with a score of 214.350 at the Big Ten Championships Friday (March 30) at Minnesota's Sports Pavilion. For the third-year in a row, Ohio State claimed the team title, posting a score of 217.750, followed by Penn State (217.650), Minnesota (215.250), Michigan, Illinois (211.900) and Iowa (210.000).
Senior Aaron Rakes (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar HS) claimed the only individual Big Ten title for the Wolverines, posting a career-best, team-high score of 9.475.
NCAA Championships on Television
Can't make the trip to State College Enjoy the NCAA Championships on television. The Team & All-Around Finals will be shown on Tuesday (April 17) 2 p.m. on ESPN2, while the Individual Event Finals will air on Sunday (April 15) at 5:30 p.m. on CN8 (The Comcast Network).
NCAA Titles Under Golder
Head coach Kurt Golder currently owns one NCAA team title, and has coached U-M athletes to five individual titles. Golder and the Wolverines claimed their national championship title in 1999, giving U-M men's gymnastics its first NCAA title in 29 years.
Did You Know ...
That the highest point total for U-M at the NCAA's is 423.85 (6th place) set in 1975.
The highest point total in head coach Kurt Golder's era is 232.550 (1st place) set in 1999. The point tally is also the highest in a championship year for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines have three NCAA team titles (1963, 1970 and 1999).
The Wolverines have 26 individual NCAA titles: One all-around, three floor exercise, two vault, seven parallel bars, two high bar and 11 trampoline*).
*the trampoline is currently discontinued.
The last individual NCAA Champion was in 2003, when Andrew DiGiore claimed his first-ever vault crown.
U-M is currently tied for seventh in the nation for the most team titles; Penn State is ranked No. 1 with 11.
First High Bar Title
Senior Aaron Rakes claimed his first high bar title of the season at the right time, taking first place in the Big Ten Championships Individual Finals with a score of 9.475. Rakes is the Maize and Blue's first high bar champion since 2000, when Daniel Diaz-Luong claimed the title. Rakes is also the 11th high bar champion for the Wolverines since 1961. Rakes average of 9.475 is also the highest score earned on the high bar for any Wolverine in 2007.
Big Ten Titles
With Aaron Rakes claiming the high bar title at last week's Big Ten Championships, U-M has 91 Big Ten Champions, including champions from trampoline and tumbling which are both discontinued. Head coach Kurt Golder has produced 16 of the 91 Big Ten individual champions since 1999.
Farewell Seniors
With the close of the postseason, U-M will be saying farewell to three Wolverines: Senior/junior co-captain Andrew Elkind (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East HS), fifth-year senior co-captain Justin Laury (Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS) and senior Aaron Rakes.
2007 Team Highs
Floor Exercise: Scott Bregman, 9.800 (Oklahoma, 1/27/07)
Pommel Horse: Justin Laury, 9.250 (Oklahoma, 1/27/07)
Still Rings: Ralph Ross, 9.700 (Iowa, 1/20/07)
Vault: Justin Laury, 9.050 (Big Ten Championships Team Finals, 3/30/07)
Parallel Bars: Andrew Elkind, 9.800 (Iowa, 1/20/07)
High Bar: Aaron Rakes, 9.475 (Big Ten Individual Finals, 3/31/07)
Michigan's 2006-07 Title Count (Includes Ties for First Place)
Floor Exercise
Scott Bregman (2)
Kent Caldwell (6)
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)
Daniel Rais (1)
2007 GymInfo Rankings (4/2/07)
Michigan placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships and dropped to No. 5 in the GymInfo rankings. U-M has a National qualifying average of 215.820 -- 1.400 behind No. 1 Ohio State.
Rank, Team Total Season Average 1. Ohio State 217.220 2. Oklahoma 217.180 3. Penn State 216.590 4. Stanford 216.000 5. MICHIGAN 215.820 6. Minnesota 213.860 7. California 212.780 8. Illinois 212.170 9. Iowa 208.510 10. Temple 205.180 11. Nebraska 204.140 12. Army 200.980 13. Illinois-Chicago 200.770 14. William & Mary 198.530 15. Navy 197.750 16. Air Force Academy 191.310 17. Springfield 183.750 18. M.I.T. 180.060 19. James Madison 162.590Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
