Weekly Release #12: at NCAA East Regional

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, April 10 -- at NCAA East Regional (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
Thu-Sat., April 22-24 -- at NCAA Championships (Lincoln, Neb.), 7 p.m. CDT

Michigan Travels to Illinois for NCAA East Regionals
The first-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team is on the road in two weeks to Illinois' Huff Hall for the NCAA East Regional (April 10). The Big Ten Conference champion, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference champion and five at-large teams from the East Region will compete to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which are hosted this season by the University of Nebraska.

Michigan qualifies as the No. 1 seed in the regional meet and joins the ECAC champion, University of Massachusetts, No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Iowa, No. 5 Iowa and No. 7 Michigan State. The teams and individuals that score within the top three spots will go on to compete at the NCAA Finals.

U-M Tumblers Claim Big Ten Crown
Michigan stole the Big Ten Conference title from the host team, Iowa, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday (March 26). The Wolverines posted a team score of 230.275 while the defending champions fell to second with a team total of 229.475. Ohio State finished third (229.250), while Penn State (227.650), Michigan State (226.700), Illinois (223.725) and Minnesota (217.225) filled fourth through seventh. This is the 13th Big Ten title the Blue tumblers have won, while it is the first in 24 years.

Wolverines Dominate the Championship Stands
Michigan not only had a winning team at the Big Ten Championship, but Maize and Blue were the most-frequent colors on the individual event champion's stand. The Wolverines took three out of six leading spots at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night (March 27). Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman (Wallingford, Conn./Lyman Hall HS) secured the victor's position on the parallel bars with a career high of 9.9125, sophomore Kenny Keener (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville HS) was named champion of the still rings, also with a career high of 9.9125 and freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt HS) took best honors on the vault with a 9.812.

Perfect 10s
In the Big Ten individual event championships that took place on Saturday evening (March 27), Michigan's Justin Toman and Kenny Keener both acquired a perfect 10.0 from one of the six judges posted at each event. Toman's performance on the parallel bars earned him a career-high score of 9.9125, while Keener obtained the same results with his performance on the still rings.

Toman Wins Again
Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman defended his Big Ten championship on the parallel bars. Toman, who won the 1998 Big Ten parallel bars championship (9.750), claimed that position once again with a remarkable performance. Entering the Big Ten Individual Event championship with a career-high score of 9.850 on the parallel bars, Toman beat his personal best to save his crown with a 9.9125. He is currently No. 1 in the GymInfo national ranking (Mar. 29) on the parallel bars (9.850).

Big Ten Awards
Michigan's head coach Kurt Golder was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year at the Big Ten Conference championship on Saturday (March 27) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Within just three seasons, Golder has turned the Wolverines' men's gymnastics program into one that brings substantial competition to the nation's top teams. This championship is a complete turnaround from the three seasons prior to 1999, which consisted of a sixth-place finish at Crisler Arena and two seventh-place finishes out of seven teams.

Freshman Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS) was recognized as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Vetere was a strong and consistant contributor to the Wolverines' winning season, holding the team season high on the pommel horse with a 9.875, received vs. Michigan State (March 20). Vetere also contributed third place in the all-around at the Big Ten Championships (March 26) with a 57.200.

Wolverines Stay Solid in No. 1 Spot
Entering the 12th week of competition, Michigan remains in the first-place position in the GymInfo national rankings (Mar. 29) for the second consecutive week. With the Wolverines claiming the Big Ten Championship crown (230.275) this past Friday (March 26), their first-ranked average score of 229.175 climbed to 229.542. U-M qualifies as the first seed in the NCAA East Regionals with this win and ranking.

NAGC/M Top 20 Ranking (Mar. 29)
(by Regional Qualifing Average)

 1. MICHIGAN           229.542
 2. Ohio State         228.442
 3. Iowa               228.417
 4. Penn State         228.050
 5. Nebraska           227.908
 6. Michigan State     227.192
 7. Oklahoma           226.642
 8. Illinois           226.250 
 9. Massachusetts      226.250
10. Illinois-Chicago   223.983
11. Brigham Young      223.758
12. Stanford           223.325
13. California         222.317
14. New Mexico         222.092
15. Minnesota          217.125
16. Air Force          216.875
17. Army               216.833
18. William & Mary     216.292
19. Temple             216.192
20. Navy               213.733

Michigan's National Team Rankings
The Wolverines claim the No. 1 spot in four out of six events in the most recent GymInfo national ranking (Mar. 29). The Blue Tumblers currently lead the nation on the floor exercise (38.233), the still rings (38.783), the vault (38.233) and parallel bars (38.608). For the remaining two events, Michigan takes second on the pommel horse (38.617) behind Iowa (38.633) and sixth on the high bar (37.558).

Michigan's Individual National Rankings
Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman makes a mark for Michigan in the GymInfo individual national rankings (Mar. 29), as he is found in four out of six events. Toman is presently ranked first on the parallel bars (9.850), fourth on the floor exercise (9.733), 13th on the high bar (9.633) and 14th on the pommel horse (9.708). Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong is also a strong name for the Wolverines in the ranking, as he is ranked second on the vault (9.725), tied for fifth on the pommel horse (9.758), sixth in the all-around (56.975) and tied for 11th on the parallel bars (9.592). Freshman Scott Vetere takes the fourth-ranked position on the parallel bars (9.754), eighth in the all-around (56.775), 11th on still rings (9.700), 12th on pommel horse (9.717) and 15th on the vault (9.567). Sophomore Kenny Keener holds third place on the still rings (9.867), while freshman Brad Kenna (Barberton, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit HS) moves up from 11th to sixth in the ranking on vault (9.658). Junior LaLo Haro (Puebla, Pue.,Mexico/Instituto Iberia) is tied with Diaz-Luong for sixth place in the all-around (56.975), and Junior Ethan Johnson (Chevy Chase, Md./Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School) takes 15th place on the still rings with a 9.608. Senior co-captain Randy D'Amura (Austin, Texas/St. Michael's Academy) records a 9.567 on the floor exercise for the 17th ranking position.

Career Highs
Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman recorded three career-high scores at the Big Ten championships on Friday (March 26). On the still rings, Toman went from a 9.200 to a 9.550, on the parallel bars he beat an already substantial score of 9.850 with a 9.925 and in the all-around he topped last season's career high of 53.900 with a runner-up score of 57.625.

Freshman Brad Kenna received a personal best of 9.775 on vault, finishing in first place with this performance, while freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong won the vault individual event title with a new career high of 9.812.

Sophomore Kenny Keener gave a top-notch performance on the still rings, scoring a career high of 9.9125. This first-place score included a perfect 10.000 from one of six judges. Freshman Josh Levin set a high on the parallel bars (9.550), and freshman Scott Vetere received a personal best of 9.300 on the high bar.