Weekly Release #7
3/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday March 6 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 7 p.m. CST
Saturday March 13 -- vs. Ohio State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
What's Ahead for the Wolverines
The No. 7-ranked Michigan men's gymnastics team (7-4) travels to Iowa City, Iowa, Saturday (March 6) to take on the No. 6-ranked University of Iowa Hawkeyes. The two teams share a common thread, as Michigan head coach Kurt Golder and assistant coach Mike Burns were both Iowa assistant coaches before joining forces in Ann Arbor. The Golder-Burns duo compiled a 2-2 record against their former team during the 2003 season.
Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa is currently ranked sixth in the country in the GymInfo rankings with a scoring average of 215.65. The Hawkeyes finished in third place at last year's Big Ten Championships and sixth in the NCAA. Iowa is led by 2003 NCAA high bar champion Linus Gaveika and All-American Michael Reavis. Iowa on the Web: www.hawkeyesports.com.
Recapping the Season-High Performance at Oklahoma
In its last competition Michigan placed second out of four teams Feb. 21 at Oklahoma, scoring a season-high 218.225. U-M defeated No. 8 Nebraska (213.875) and No. 11 ranked Minnesota (210.700) but fell short to No. 2-ranked Oklahoma's season-high score of 221.475.
Michigan posted solid scores on floor, pommel horse, rings and vault and trailed Oklahoma by only four-tenths of a point going into the last two rotations. The Wolverines sustained several uncharacteristic falls on parallel bars and high bar, and these mistakes, combined with Oklahoma's strong finish on the high bar, were too much for Michigan to overcome as the Sooners went on to record their 48th consecutive victory.
Sophomore Justin Laury (Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS) won the all-around with a score of 55.15 and placed fourth on the floor (9.30), third on pommel horse (9.35) and third on the rings (9.50). Junior Eddie Umphrey (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) captured fifth on the floor (9.25), fourth on rings (9.45) and fifth on vault (9.20). Rounding out the top five placings on individual events for Michigan was sophomore Luke Bottke (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS), who tied Umphrey for fifth (9.25) on the floor exercise.
New Team Record
In addition to notching a season-high team score at Oklahoma, the 2004 men's squad set a new school record. The team beat the previous mark of 217.95, set at the 2003 NCAA Championships, by tallying a 218.225. Scoring higher earlier in the season is a sign that the team's difficulty and execution are improving.
Laury Breaks Michigan All-Around Record
Sophomore standout Justin Laury broke Michigan's all-around record in the Feb. 21 competition at Oklahoma. He scored a 55.15, topping the previous school record of 54.975 set by Daniel Diaz-Luong in 2001. The performance earned Laury Big Ten co-Athlete of the Week honors and led Michigan to its highest team total of the season.
Captain Gatti Back in the Lineup
Michigan captain Chris Gatti (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford HS) made his season debut in the team's lineup Feb. 21 when the Wolverines traveled to Oklahoma to face the defending NCAA champion Sooners along with Minnesota and Nebraska. Gatti is returning to form since undergoing elbow surgery in December and competed on the parallel bars and the high bar, posting consistent scores of 8.40 and 8.75, respectively.
Hernandez Not Allowing Knee Injury to Slow Him Down
Redshirt freshman Andre Hernandez (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock HS) has proven himself to be one of Michigan's most dependable performers, having "hit" every routine he has competed in NCAA competitions so far this season. A knee injury which he sustained Feb. 13 has kept him out of Michigan's last two competitions but not off the apparatus. Hernandez continues to train his difficult routines on the pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and the high bar, without dismounts, in his trademark consistent style while giving his knee time to heal. He has his sights set on returning to the competition lineup in time for the Big Ten Conference and NCAA championships.
GymInfo National Rankings (3/2/04)
(by Season Average)
Rank, Team Score 1. Illinois 219.125 2. Oklahoma 219.067 3. California 217.000 4. Penn State 216.958 5. Ohio State 216.317 6. Iowa 215.650 7. MICHIGAN 214.808 8. Nebraska 212.917 9. Army 210.417 10. Stanford 210.292
Quoting Head Coach Kurt Golder
On how the team's spring break training at Oklahoma and Stanford went ... "It went real well. I like the format of not having a meet at the end of the week because it allowed the guys to focus a little more intently on cleaning up skills that they are already doing and on acquiring new sequences without putting quite as much emphasis on doing routines."
On what the team will focus on heading into the last part of the season and the postseason ... "We've been struggling all year with consistency on pommel horse and parallel bars. We need to increase the number of intrasquads on those events and put a little more focus and pressure on them in the gym."
On the return of Chris Gatti to the lineup ... "It was great to see Chris back. He's been working hard for so long, going through the surgery and rehab on his arm. It's been a long haul for him and we've been wanting to get him back in the lineup. He could be a big spark to the team. He's getting back in routine shape to the point where he could really give a big boost to the team.
Contact: Justin Toman, Matt Godfrey (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
