Michigan
NCAA Qualifier
Wolverines Finish First in Qualifying Session II to Advance to NCAA Finals
4/18/2025 10:50:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Event: NCAA Championships Qualifier
Scores: #2 Michigan 329.824, #3 Stanford 329.028, #6 Illinois 323.195, #7 Ohio State 319.459, #11 Army 311.091, #10 Navy 308.056
Record: U-M (17-3)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 19 -- host, NCAA Championship Finals (Crisler Center), 6:30 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team advanced to the NCAA Finals with a strong performance in Session II of NCAA Championships qualifying on Friday (April 18) at Crisler Center.
The Maize and Blue finished first in the session with a team score of 329.824 while Stanford (329.028) and Illinois (323.195) rounded out the top three. The trio will compete against No. 4 Nebraska, No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5 Penn State, which advanced out of Session I.
How it Happened
Vault
Will Young led the Wolverines with a career-best 14.300, topping his previous high by 0.45 points. Strong performances from Solen Chiodi (13.866), Fred Richard (13.466) and Paul Juda (13.766) were enough to give U-M a team score of 55.598 and the lead after the first rotation.
Parallel Bars
A team-high 14.233 from Richard combined with solid showings from Evgeny Siminiuc (13.800), Pierce Wolfgang (13.600) and Logan McKeown (13.100) allowed the Wolverines to remain in the lead, pulling ahead of second-place Stanford 110.331-107.998.
High Bar
Carson Eshelman returned to the lineup for the first time since Penn State (Feb. 1), anchoring the event and earning a career-high 13.966. With scores above 13.000 for Siminiuc, Juda and Richard, the Maize and Blue maintained the lead with a score of 165.162 at the halfway mark of the meet.
Floor Exercise
Juda led the Wolverines with a season-best performance of 14.266 in the third position. Javier Alfonso entered the lineup for the first time in a collegiate meet this season, scoring a 13.666. A pair of 13.733s from Chiodi and Young gave U-M a 55.398 event score and a meet-leading team score of 220.560.
Pommel Horse
The Wolverines earned a season-high score (55.766) for the second straight meet behind Aaronson Mansberger's 14.466. Richard tied his season-high score of 14.100, while Zach Granados came just 0.300 points from his season high with a score of 13.500. Michigan took its largest lead of the meet heading into the final rotation, pulling ahead of Stanford 276.326-272.928.
Still Rings
Michigan finished the meet led by Rithik Puri's 13.833. Despite Eshelman's fall on the dismount, strong routines from Juda (13.766) and Alfonso (13.733) allowed the Wolverines to maintain the edge and finish first to advance to Saturday's NCAA Finals.
Up Next
The Wolverines will compete in the NCAA Championships Finals on Saturday (April 19) at 6:30 p.m. inside Crisler Center. The meet will be broadcast live on ESPN2, with individual-event live streams available on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
