2024 Michigan Men's Gymnastics Awards and Honors
6/14/2024 1:42:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
• Richard Named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year (4/2/24)
Big Ten Gymnast of the Week (March 18) -- Sophomore Fred Richard has been named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for his nation-leading 86.950 in the all-around and 15.30 on high bar in U-M's victory over Penn State (March 17).
Additionally, Richard took home a win on floor exercise (14.60), and runner-up finishes on pommel horse (14.65) and still rings (14.35).
The mark is just .05 off his career best of 15.10 -- and is the third-highest score in the NCAA on the season. Overall, he leads the NCAA on the event with a 14.950 average on the season.
The honor is his third Big Ten honor of the season after earning specialist of the week on Jan. 22 and Feb. 5. He took home Gymnast of the Week on two occasions during the 2023 season. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Specialist of the Week (March 4) -- Senior Javier Alfonsohas been named Big Ten Specialist of the Week for his 15.05 on still rings in U-M's win over No. 1-ranked Oklahoma on March 2.
The mark is just .05 off his career best of 15.10, and is the third-highest score in the NCAA on the season. Overall, he leads the NCAA on the event with a 14.950 average on the season.
The plaudit is Alfonso's second Big Ten Specialist of the Week honor, as he previously hauled in the plaudit on Jan. 15.
Michigan has now been represented in all but two weeks of Big Ten honors with seven total awards through seven weeks of competition. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Gymnast of the Week (Feb. 12) -- Graduate student Paul Juda has been named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for his outstanding performance in U-M's victory over Nebraska (Feb. 10), notching the highest all-around score in the NCAA (86.200) and vault score (15.10).
Juda set a new career high in the all-around, and won event tiles on floor exercise with a 14.35, pommel horse (14.15), vault, parallel bars (14.45) and high bar (14.60).
The plaudit is his second Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor (Jan. 22) and ninth of his Wolverine career.
Michigan has six total Big Ten weekly honors this season. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Specialist of the Week (Feb. 5) -- Sophomore Fred Richard has been named Big Ten Specialist of the Week for his performance against Illinois after taking event wins on high bar and parallel bars.
The highlight of the afternoon was his 14.90 in the final rotation on high bar, a mark that leads the nation. He also added a win on parallel bars with a 14.40.
The award is his seventh Big Ten honor of his career after earning specialist of the week earlier this season (Jan. 22). He took home gymnast of the week (twice) and freshman of the week (four times) a season ago.
Michigan has five total awards through four weeks of competition. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Gymnast, Specialist of the Week (Jan. 22) -- Graduate student Paul Juda (gymnast) and sophomore Fred Richard (specialist) have each received Big Ten weekly honors after helping third-ranked U-M top No. 12 Army, 412.500-382.950, in Cliff Keen Arena on Saturday, Jan 20.
Juda won the vault competition with a nation-leading 15.00 while also placing second on still rings (14.45) and pommel horse (13.90). The meet was his first in over a year, as he missed all of last season due to injury. He last took home a Big Ten plaudit on March 8, 2022, and the honor is the seventh Big Ten nod of his Wolverine career.
Richard took the pommel horse title, scoring a 15.00 on the event to pace the country. He also won high bar with a 14.40. The award is his sixth Big Ten honor of his career after earning Gymnast of the Week (twice) and Freshman of the Week (four times) a year ago. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Specialist of the Week (Jan. 15) -- Senior Javier Alfonso was named the Big Ten Specialist of the Week. Alfonso, a returning All-American on still rings, took home the event title at the Windy City Invitational with a 15.10 on his signature event. The Miami, Fla., native, broke the 15-plateau for the second time in his Michigan career, as he previously accomplished the feat against Oklahoma a season ago. The plaudit gives the Wolverines its second specialist of the week honor in as many weeks, as teammate David Wolma captured the honor last week. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Specialist of the Week (Jan. 8) -- Junior David Wolma was named the first-ever Big Ten Specialist of the Week. Wolma, one of the top returning vaulters in the conference, opened the season with a 14.70 on the table that featured a stuck landing. The effort was good enough for a runner-up finish in the contest against No. 14 Simpson and No. 15 Greenville. Overall, his last seven vaults dating back to last season have all broken the 14.35 plateau. Previously, Wolma earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Jan. 17) and Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Jan. 10) during the 2022 season. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch, Preseason Poll (Dec. 20) -- Graduate student Paul Juda and sophomore Fred Richard were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch in the 2024 season
Juda, the reigning Nissen-Emery Award winner, did not compete in 2023 due to injury. In 2022, he claimed the NCAA and Big Ten All-Around championships, while also winning the 2022 NCAA vault title to go along with six All-America honors. He also was the 2022 Big Ten high bar event winner, and was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and Big Ten Gymnast of the Championships.
Richard won the all-around at NCAAs and Big Tens in 2023 -- while also taking home high bar and parallel bar titles in addition to a runner-up finish on floor exercise at NCAAs. The Big Ten high bar champion was also named Big Ten Gymnast of the Championships as well as Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
With the pair leading the Wolverine efforts, U-M is the first team since 2007 (Oklahoma) to boast a pair of NCAA All-Around champions on its roster.
The four-time defending Big Ten champion Wolverines were selected first in the conference poll, followed by Illinois, Nebraska, Penn State and Ohio State.
U-M will open the regular season with a tri-meet against Simpson and Greenville on Saturday (Jan. 6) at 1 p.m. inside Cliff Keen Arena.
Players Mentioned
