Michigan
Big Ten Team and All-Around Finals
Five Wolverines Qualify for Big Ten Individual Event Finals
4/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
» Five U-M gymnasts earned berths to eight individual event finals: Emyre Cole, Anthony Stefanelli (floor, vault), Nolan Novak (pommel horse), Colin Mahar, Anthony McCallum (vault, rings, parallel bars).
» Fourteen of U-M's 30 routines on the night came from either true or redshirt freshmen. In all, six Wolverines made their Big Ten Championships debuts in Marty Strech, Emyre Cole, Samuel Su, McCallum, Alec Kystek and Adam Dean.
» McCallum, ranked as the nation's top vaulter heading into the meet, did not disappoint, as he qualified first on vault with a 15.40. Mahar's 15.40 on rings qualified him third, while Cole placed sixth in the all-around with an 84.95.
Site: Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Team/All-Around Finals)
U-M Team Result: 7th Place of 7 Teams (417.250)
Next U-M Meet: Saturday, April 2 -- at Big Ten Championships - Individual Event Finals (Columbus, Ohio), 7 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team qualified five gymnasts to eight events for Saturday's (April 2) Big Ten individual event finals during Friday (April 1) competition at St. John Arena. In the team and all-around portion of the conference championships held Friday, U-M's team score of 417.250 was seventh out of seven Big Ten teams, while Ohio State took home the team title.
Michigan's night commenced on floor, where freshman Emyre Cole paced the effort with a 14.75, followed by junior Anthony Stefanelli's 14.70, with each earning a berth into the individual-event finals. The Wolverines took their bye in the second rotation and scored a team mark of 62.05 on pommel horse that was led by senior Nolan Novak's 14.45, which qualified him ninth on the event.
In rotation four, the Maize and Blue took to rings and continued upon its recent improvement on the apparatus, marking a 72.05 team tally. Sophomore Marty Strech scored a career-high 14.75 in the No. 3 spot, while freshman Anthony McCallum was just off his career best with a 15.05, placing seventh. Senior Colin Mahar continued his tear on rings, scoring a 15.40 to lead the way for the Maize and Blue contingent to qualify third. He has scored a 15.40 or above on rings in each of the last three meets.
Per usual, vault was a strength on the night for Michigan, as the five-man lineup scored a 73.70, led by the nation's top vaulter in McCallum, who flew to a 15.40 with his Tsukahara Double Pike to secure the top spot heading into individual event finals. Stefanelli (14.90) also earned a berth in Saturday's competition as he placed seventh.
The Wolverines closed out the championship with a 70.20 on parallel bars, led by McCallum's 15.05, before a 66.80 team score on high bar.
The Wolverines had a meet-high three all-arounders in the competition, with Cole taking sixth with a 84.95. Strech placed tied for eighth with an 84.05, while sophomore Dmitri Belanovski, who entered the meet ranked No. 2 on the event in the Big Ten, took 11th with an 82.65. Cole was one of two freshmen to place in the top six in the all-around, along with Minnesota's Justin Karstadt.
The five-man contingent will compete Saturday in the Big Ten Individual Event Finals at 7 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.
Players Mentioned
