Weekly Release #13: at NCAA Championships

Upcoming Schedule
Thu-Sat., April 22-24 -- at NCAA Championships (Lincoln, Neb.), 7 p.m. CDT

Michigan Travels to Nebraska for NCAA Championships
The University of Michigan men's gymnastics team will be on the road when it travels to Lincoln, Nebraska for NCAA Championships (April 22-24). The Wolverines finished second at East Regionals, with a team score of 231.050, and qualified as the No. 2 team at NCAAs. Joining Michigan in Lincoln will be East Regional Champion Ohio State, West Regional Champion Nebraska as well as Penn State, BYU and Stanford. All six teams compete on Thursday, April 22 with the top three teams continuing on Friday to determine the NCAA Champion. Individual event finals will be held on Saturday (April 24).

Unfamiliar Territory
The Wolverines are making their first appearance at the NCAA Championships as a team since the 1975 season. That was also the last time, prior to this season, Michigan had won the Big Ten title and marked current Michigan head coach Kurt Golder's first season competing as a Wolverine. The Championships promise to be wide open as the top three teams from last season, Iowa, Illinois and two-time defending champion California (Berkeley) all failed to advance and only two of this year's competing schools, BYU and Ohio State, qualified for last year's championship.

Michigan, however, is not totally void of NCAA Championship experience as three Wolverines have qualified individually. Jose "LaLo" Haro has qualified in the all-around each of the last two seasons, earning All-America status in the all-around and on the vault last season. Kenny Keener (still rings) and Justin Toman (parallel bars) also qualified last season.

Moving On
Michigan secured a spot in its first NCAA Championship since 1975 by posting a 231.050 at NCAA East Regionals Saturday (April 10). The score was the team's second-best score of the season, missing first place by only five one-hundredths of a point.

The Wolverines took top honors in the pommel horse with a season-high score of 39.025 and in the still rings as well, with a score of 38.850. The team tied its season-best with a 38.525 finish on the high bar.

Individually, Jose "Lalo" Haro (Puebla, Pue. Mexico/Instituto Iberia) finished fourth in the all-around competition, with a score of 57.450, followed by Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS), who finished sixth with a score of 57.150. Vetere tied for second in the pommel horse with a 9.825 and placed third in the still rings behind teammate Kenny Keener (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville HS), who took second with a score of 9.800. Daniel Diaz-Luong (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop Devitt HS) captured the horizontal bar win with a career-best score of 9.850. Brad Kenna (Barbertown, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit HS) took second in the vault with a 9.675 and Justin Toman (Wallingford, Conn./Lyman Hall HS) finished third in the parallel bars (9.700).

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 Championships 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 combines with Kevin Roulston to give Michigan the conference's last two Freshman of the Year recipients. 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
Michigan remained in the first-place position for the second consecutive week in the latest GymInfo national rankings (Mar. 29). With the Wolverines claiming the Big Ten Championship crown (230.275) on March 26, their first-ranked average score of 229.175 climbed to 229.542. With the ranking, the Wolverines qualified as the first seed in the NCAA East Regionals at Illinois (April 10), where they finished in second place.

Michigan's National Team 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 Jose "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 10.0 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.