U-M Looking to Defend Titles at Big Ten Championships
3/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
March 24, 2015
• Coach Golder 
(SnappyTV)
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sat., March 27-28 -- at Big Ten Championships (State College, Pa.), 7 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network | Championship Central/Live Results
With regular-season competition wrapped up, the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team looks to capture its third straight conference championship at the 2015 Big Ten Championships Friday-Saturday (March 27-28) at Rec Hall in State College, Pennsylvania. Team championship competition will take place on Friday, while individual finals will take place on Saturday. Both sessions will be broadcast live with the Big Ten Network.
• Last season at Big Tens, the team title was the 17th Big Ten title in program history, as U-M marked a 448.200 to capture back-to-back titles for the first time since 1999-2000. Current undergraduate assistant coach Sam Mikulak set the NCAA record for an all-around score with 93.70 and also notched an NCAA record on parallel bars (16.10). On day one, U-M qualified 21 routines for individual-event finals.
• Kurt Golder won Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fourth time (1999, 2000, 2013-14). Additionally, Tristian Perez-Rivera, Paul Rizkalla Jr. and Syque Caesar all earned All-Big Ten second team honors. Perez-Rivera scored a 15.325 on floor, while Rizkalla scored a 15.225 on vault to earn second-place finishes. Caesar tied for third place on parallel bars with a 15.200.
• A team championship at Big Tens would give U-M the 18th in school history. It would also mark the first time since 1964-66 that U-M has captured three straight Big Ten Team championships.
• Senior Stacey Ervin will look to secure his second Big Ten floor exercise title after taking home the hardware in the 2013 season. Ervin was unable to compete on the exercise last season due to an injury suffered during the team championship portion of the meet. Additionally, classmate Adrian de los Angeles is probable to compete in the all-around competition after missing last year's championship season due to injury. In 2013, he earned a runner-up finish to earn All-Big Ten first team honors, and he also earned All-Big Ten accolades in his freshman season (2012).
• For his performance against UIC, senior Stacey Ervin earned his second Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor (March 23) after previously taking home the accolade on Feb. 9. Ervin won the 14th floor exercise title of his career with a 15.85, which currently ranks No. 2 in the country, to go along with three individual-event titles. In addition to the floor exercise excellence, he took first on vault (15.20) as well as all-around (88.55). The all-around win was the first of his career, and it marked the first time he has competed in the all-around competition this season. He also took second in the meet on high bar (14.55), and third on parallel bars (14.95). The honor is his second of the season after previously winning on Feb. 9 and the fifth of Ervin's career, as he earned the accolade on March 10 of last season and Feb. 18 of the 2013 season. He was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 19, 2013.
• Against UIC (March 21), the Wolverines (443.050) took home six individual-event titles to go along with season team-high scores on pommel horse, vault and parallel bars in a Senior Night victory over No. 17 UIC (401.750) on March 21.
U-M was led by senior all-around, vault and floor champion Stacey Ervin, as well as junior Nolan Novak (PH), senior Paul Rizkalla Jr. (SR), senior Adrian de los Angeles (PB) and sophomore Jonathan Chin (HB), who all claimed event titles.
• U-M ranks in the top five in the country on four events, highlighted by a No. 1 ranking on vault (74.667), No. 2 on pommel horse (72.783), No. 3 on floor exercise (74.783) and No. 4 on parallel bars (72.817).
Individually, Stacey Ervin leads all Wolverines with a No. 1 ranking on floor (15.267) and is No. 4 on vault (15.267). On parallel bars, Nick Hunter is No. 3 on the apparatus (15.217), while Adrian de los Angeles (15.150) is fourth. On pommel horse, Nolan Novak is No. 7 (15.000), while Hunter is No. 8 (14.983).
Michigan is No. 4 in four-score average as a team (437.667), which ranks as No. 2 in the Big Ten behind No. 2 Penn State.
• Michigan has captured 19 individual event titles as a team this season, led by Stacey Ervin with six, while Adrian de los Angeles (four) and Anthony Stefanelli have also won a trio of event titles, and Nolan Novak and Paul Rizkalla Jr. have captured two. Freshman Dmitri Belanovski, Nick Hunter and Tristian Perez-Rivera have each captured a title as well.
• According to RoadToNationals.com, Stacey Ervin leads the team in all-event points at 427.30 and is followed by Tristian Perez-Rivera 384.15 points and freshman Dmitri Belanovski with 379.80 points. He is trailed by Adrian de los Angeles (366.55) and Nick Hunter (335.95).
• Senior Adrian de los Angeles was named a Nissen-Emery finalist and will look to make it back-to-back seasons for a U-M gymnast to take home the NCAA Men's Gymnastics version of the Heisman Trophy. De los Angeles, a former USA Senior National Team Member, two-time NCAA All-American and NCAA champion, was also the runner-up in the all-around competition at both Big Tens and NCAAs behind former teammate Sam Mikulak. Additionally, he finished second in the all-around at the 2013 Winter Cup Challenge.
• The Wolverines earned their first win of the season in two tries over Illinois on Sunday, March 15, knocking off the No. 3 Illini, 435.750-428.500. The Wolverines, who never trailed in the meet, were led by a pair of top-two finishes from senior Nick Hunter, a pommel horse title from senior Adrian de los Angeles (14.50) and a shared event title on vault from senior Paul Rizkalla Jr. and sophomore Anthony Stefanelli (15.20).
• Four current Wolverines, as well as undergraduate assistant coach Sam Mikulak, took part in the 2015 Winter Cup Feb. 19-21. Senior Stacey Ervin led the way on floor with a two-day score of 30.55, which was good for a second place finish. Mikulak rebounded after a rough first day with the best all-around score of the final day of competition with a 87.85.
Ervin scored a 15.05 on floor with a 15.45 vault, and also turned in an 11th-place finish on parallel bars (28.50) on day two. Fellow senior Adrian de los Angeles earned a top 12 finish on pommel horse, as he took 12th with a two-day tally of 28.90. Freshman Dmitri Belanovski took 22nd in the all-around, with a total score of 163.200. His top single event score came on high bar (27.25), and he added a 28.00 on floor, which was good for 24th. Senior Nick Hunter took part in the first day of competition, but failed to qualify for the second day of action.
2015 CGA Coaches' Poll Top 10 (3/24/15)
First-place votes in parentheses
1. Oklahoma (19)
2. Stanford
3. Michigan
4. Penn State
5. Illinois
6. Minnesota
7. Cal
8. Iowa
9. Ohio State
10. Air Force
Ways to Follow U-M Gymnastics
For fans not able to attend meets this season, there are several ways to follow the Wolverines action this year. Your primary source for all things Michigan is MGoBlue.com, where recaps, features, schedules, and statistics can be found. Live results will be provided for all home meets, as well as select away meets. Additionally, follow @umichgym for live updates at meets, and 'like' Michigan men's gymnastics on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @umichgym, where special content can be found throughout the season.
NEXT UP
Thu-Sat., April 9-11 -- at NCAA Championships (Norman, Okla.) 7 p.m.
Communications Contact: Scott Kemps (734) 763-4423
