Weekly Release #9: vs. Michigan State

Upcoming Schedule
Sunday, Mar. 14 -- host Michigan State (Cliff Keen Arena), 1 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 20 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 7 p.m.

No. 4 Wolverines Host No. 7 Spartans
The fourth-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team will meet seventh-ranked Michigan State for the second time this season, hosting the Spartans on Sunday (Mar. 14). Michigan enters its fourth and final home meet with an 11-5 record, while Michigan State enters rival territory with a record of 4-9.

At the start of the season Michigan met Michigan State in the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 16). The Maize and Blue took third (224.050) ahead of the Green and White, who took fifth (223.200) among five other competing teams. The Wolverines claimed fifth and sixth place in the all-around while the still rings proved to be the Spartans strongest event with the first and second-place individual honors.

No. 4 Michigan Tumbles Ahead at UCSB/Gold's Gym Invitational
Fourth-ranked Michigan beat four teams, including first-ranked Penn State, at the UCSB/Gold's Gym Invitational on Saturday (Mar. 6) at the University of California-Santa Barbara. The Blue Tumblers came out on top with a team score of 226.400, outscoring No. 1 Penn State (223.950), No. 13 California (223.400), No. 19 Santa Barbara (214.825) and Washington (191.750).

Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt HS) took the all-around (57.600) with first-place performances on the vault (9.650) and high bar (9.750). Junior LaLo Haro (Puebla, Pue., Mexico/Instituto Iberia) finished in second in the all-around (56.850). Haro joined Diaz-Luong with tied first-place honors on the vault (9.650) and high bar (9.750).

Wolverines Found at Fourth in the Nation
Entering the ninth week of competition, Michigan remains in the fourth-place position in the GymInfo rankings (Mar. 1). Although Michigan edged out Penn State this past Saturday (Mar. 6) in Santa Barbara, the Wolverines (227.175) stay three spots behind the Nittany Lions (228.250) in the rankings. Ohio State (228.037) and Iowa (227.887) take the second and third-ranked positions, respectively.

NAGC/M Top 20 Rankings (3/8/99)
(by Two-Score Average)

 1. Penn State         228.250
 2. Ohio State         228.037
 3. Iowa               227.887
 4. MICHIGAN           227.175
 5. Illinois           226.237
 6. Oklahoma           225.050
 7. Michigan State     223.900
 8. Nebraska           223.700
 9. Brigham Young      223.500
10. Massachusetts      222.762
11. Stanford           221.900
12. Illinois-Chicago   220.900
13. California         218.600
14. New Mexico         217.635
15. Air Force          216.575
16. Army               214.650
    Temple             214.650
18. William & Mary     214.300
19. Minnesota          213.712
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. 8). The Blue Tumblers are currently first in the nation on the floor exercise (38.200), second on the vault (38.012) and the parallel bars (38.287), third on the pommel horse (38.300), fourth on the still rings (38.250) and sixth on the high bar (37.425). Penn State and Ohio State are the only other teams that hold first-place positions in the ranking.

Michigan's Individual National Rankings
Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong makes a mark for the Wolverines in the GymInfo individual national rankings (Mar. 8). Diaz-Luong is currently ranked fourth in the all-around (56.712), fifth on the pommel horse (9.725), sixth on the parallel bars (9.688), ninth on the high bar (9.675) and 14th on the vault. Justin Toman (Wallingford, Conn./Lyman Hall HS) is ranked second in the nation on the floor exercise (9.737), fifth on the parallel bars (9.712), 12th on the high bar (9.650) and in a tie for 14th on the pommel horse (9.625). Freshman Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS) follows Toman and Diaz-Luong with a tied 12th-place ranking on the parallel bars (9.600), a tied 18th-place ranking on the pommel horse (9.600) and 18th in the all-around (55.550). Junior LaLo Haro takes eighth on the vault (9.575), 11th in the all-around (56.150), in a tie for 19th on the parallel bars (9.475) and for 20th on the floor exercise (9.500).Sophomore Kenny Keener (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville HS) claims seventh place in the rankings of the still rings with a 9.700, while Senior co-captain Randy D'Amura (Austin, Texas/St. Michael's Academy) is ranked 15th in the floor exercise (9.550).

Career Highs
Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong received two career-high scores at the UCSB/Gold's Gym Invitational last Saturday (Mar. 6). Diaz-Luong beat his floor exercise score of 9.500 vs. Penn State (Feb. 5) and his vault score of 9.625 vs. Massachusetts (Feb. 20) with 9.650 first-place performances on both events.

Freshman Brad Kenna (Barberton, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit HS) claimed a new personal best on the vault with a 9.650 (first-place tie), wiping out his previous high of 9.550 vs. Iowa. Freshman Scott Vetere tied his career-high score of 9.650 on the still rings.