Michigan
Michigan State
Weekly Release #10: at Michigan State
3/16/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Mar. 20 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 7 p.m.
Fri-Sat., Mar. 26-27 -- at Big Ten Championships (Iowa City, Iowa), 7 p.m. CST
No. 4 Wolverines Travel to East Lansing to Meet No. 7 Spartans
The fourth-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team is on the road this Saturday (Mar. 20) for a co-ed meet against seventh-ranked Michigan State at the Spartans' Jenison Field House. The Wolverines will be competing for their third win in three meetings this season against their intrastate rival.
Michigan first met Michigan State at the Wolverines' opening meet of the season, the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 16). The Blue Tumblers finished this meet with a third-place honor (224.050), beating out the Green Tumblers' fifth-place finish (223.200).
Just this past Saturday (Mar. 14), the Maize and Blue faced the Green and White for the second time this season. This event was not only an intra state rival, dual conference meet for the Wolverines, but they also honored the Men's Gymnastics Alumni and Senior. Once again, Blue, with a season-best team score of 230.400, dominated Green (229.300). The tables have turned to Michigan from last season's 3-0 record for Michigan State against the Wolverines.
No. 4 Michigan Edges No. 7 Michigan State
Fourth-ranked Michigan edged seventh-ranked Michigan State on Sunday (Mar. 14) at the Wolverine's final home meet of the season. Maize and Blue won with a new team season-high score of 230.400, while the Green and White finished with a 229.300 total. The Wolverines are only the second team in the nation, along with Ohio State, to score above a 230 this year, contributing to the improvement of their overall record to 12-5.
Junior LaLo Haro (Puebla, Pue., Mexico/Instituto Iberia) won the all-around with a new season-high score of 57.575, while freshman Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS) took second with a score of 57.225. Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman (Wallingford, Conn./Lymna Hall HS) received first-place honors on the high bar, with a career-high score of 9.800, and on the parallel bars, with another 9.800.
Wolverines Fall to Fifth
Entering the tenth week of competition, Michigan slips from fourth to the fifth-place position in the GymInfo national rankings (Mar. 15). The Wolverines (227.175), although winning against Michigan State this past Saturday (Mar. 14), were bumped out of their fourth-place ranking by Illinois (227.512). Penn State is ranked first in the nation (228.250), ahead of second-ranked Ohio State (228.037) and third-ranked Iowa (227.887).
NAGC/M Top 20 Rankings (3/15/99)
(by Regional Qualifying Average)
1. Penn State 228.250
2. Ohio State 228.037
3. Iowa 227.887
4. Illinois 227.512
5. MICHIGAN 227.175
6. Michigan State 225.650
7. Oklahoma 225.575
8. Nebraska 223.700
9. Brigham Young 223.500
10. California 222.900
11. Massachusetts 222.762
12. Stanford 221.900
13. Illinois-Chicago 220.900
14. New Mexico 220.237
15. Air Force 217.175
16. Minnesota 216.025
17. Army 214.650
Temple 214.650
19. William & Mary 214.300
20. Navy 212.650
Michigan's National Team Rankings
In all six events the Wolverines hold spots in the top six in the most recent GymInfo national ranking (Mar. 15). The Blue Tumblers are currently first in the nation on the floor exercise (38.200), second on the still rings (38.450), third on the parallel bars (38.287) and the vault (38.012), fourth on the pommel horse (38.300) and sixth on the high bar (37.425). Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois and Iowa are the only other teams that hold first through third-place positions in the ranking.
Michigan's Individual National Rankings
Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman brings Michigan into the GymInfo individual national rankings (Mar. 15) a number of times. Toman is presently ranked second on the floor exercise (9.737), fifth on the parallel bars (9.712), 13th on the high bar (9.650) and tied for 16th on the pommel horse (9.625). Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt HS) is also a strong name for the Wolverines in the ranking. Diaz-Luong is ranked fifth in the all-around (56.712), sixth on the pommel horse (9.725) and parallel bars (9.700), tied for 10th on the high bar (9.675) and 17th on the vaut (9.512). Junior LaLo Haro claims eighth-place on the vault with a 9.575 and 12th in the all-around (56.275). On the still rings, with a 9.650, freshman Scott Vetere is ranked 12th. Vetere is also tied for 13th on the parallel bars (9.600) and 19th on the pommel horse (9.600) and in the all-around (55.550). Sophomore Kenny Keener (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville HS) holds the sixth-place position on the still rings (9.737), while freshman Brad Kenna (Barberton, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit HS) is tied for 13th on the vault (9.550). Senior co-captain Randy D'Amura is tied for 19th place on the floor exercise with a 9.550.
Career Highs
Freshman Scott Vetere received a career-high score of 9.900 on the still rings against Michigan State last Saturday (Mar. 14), which is also the team season-high for this particular event. Vetere also beat his all-around score with his 57.225 performance against State and tied his high bar score of 9.250. Fellow freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong received a career-high score of 9.850 on the pommel horse, outscoring his 9.750 he received against Illinois-Chicago (Jan. 23), Massachusetts (Feb. 20) and Iowa (Feb. 27).
Still rings were a major event for the Wolverines vs. Michigan State, as three of the gymnasts recorded career highs for their performances. Sophomore Kenny Keener beat his record of 9.75 against Illinois-Chicago (Jan. 23) with a new score of 9.775. Junior LaLo Haro received a personal-best of 9.725, along with Ethan Johnson (Chevy Chase, Md./Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School) who scored a 9.700.
Tracking Michigan in the Rankings
Preseason 9th Jan. 18 4th Jan. 25 2nd Feb. 1 2nd Feb. 8 2nd Feb. 15 2nd Feb. 22 2nd Mar. 1 4th Mar. 8 4th Mar. 15 5th
National Rankings (3/15/99)
Team
Overall - 5th, 227.175 avg.
Floor Exercise - 1st, 38.200
Pommel Horse - 4th, 38.300
Still Rings - 2nd, 38.450
Vault - 3rd, 38.012
Parallel Bars - 3rd, 38.287
High Bar - 6th, 37.425
Individual (Top 20)
Randy D'Amura
Floor Exercise - T19th, 9.550
Daniel Diaz-Luong
Pommel Horse - T6th, 9.725
Vault - 17th, 9.512
Parallel Bars - 6th, 9.700
High Bar - T10th, 9.675
All-Around - 5th, 56.712
LaLo Haro
Vault - T8, 9.575
All-Around - 12th, 56.275
Kenny Keener
Still Rings - 6th, 9.737
Brad Kenna
Vault - T13th, 9.550
Justin Toman
Floor Exercise - 2nd, 9.737
Pommel Horse - T16th, 9.625
Parallel Bars - 5th, 9.712
High Bar - 13th, 9.650
Scott Vetere
Pommel Horse - T19th, 9.600
Still Rings - 12th, 9.650
Parallel Bars - T13th, 9.600
All-Around - 19th, 55.550
Players Mentioned
