2005 GMM Big Ten Championships -- Day 1 Notes & Quotes
3/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
N O T E S
The Wolverines' score of 37.900 in the floor exercise is Michigan's best score in the event since posting a mark of 38.975 in their runner-up performance at the 2000 NCAA Championships.
Junior Justin Laury is the seventh different Wolverine to win the all-around competition at the Big Ten Championships, joining Edward Gagnier (1957), Rich Montpetit (1961), Gil LaRose (1963), Rick McCurdy (1969, '70, '71), Ray Gura (1973), Harley Danner (1975) and Scott Vetere (2000).
Laury has re-established the Wolverines' school all-around record three times during his U-M career. In last season's Oklahoma dual, he broke NCAA champion and current assistant coach Daniel Diaz-Loung's record (54.975) with a mark of 55.150. In this season's Oklahoma dual, he bettered that mark with a score of 56.05.
Tonight's Big Ten performance marks Laury's fifth career all-around title and his third of the 2005 season.
With 11 routines advancing to Saturday's event finals, the Wolverines boasted their most individual qualifiers since sending 11 routines to the 2001 finals.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Kurt Golder
On the Wolverines' team performance ... "The rings and on the parallel bars. The rings is a weak event for us. We needed to have a perfect performance, and we had a few problems there. On parallel bars, we're capable of turning in a much higher score. We hit all of our routines on high bar, but they weren't crisp or clean like they need to be to win a championship. We had no one to blame but ourselves. We have to work on a little more production, but at the same time, we're not a team that strives at the Big Ten Championships. We have about another seven days of good preparation for the NCAAs. I think we showed ourselves that we could have won it today, and if we can be the best team in the Big Ten, at the NCAA Championships we will have a really good chance of winning it."
On whether the Wolverines had a 225 in them tonight ... "I don't know if we could have beat Ohio State, but we could have had a 225 and been a lot closer."
On Justin Laury's all-around win ... "He's had a few physical problems, and the preparation he's had over the last weeks was so far from ideal. I was concerned about him and Geoff Corrigan coming into the meet. Geoff struggled tonight and Justin ended up winning it. It's our first all-around win since Scott Vetere in 2000."
Junior Justin Laury
On the team performance ... "It's kind of mixed emotions. I'm really happy to win all-around, but I think we just didn't have a perfect meet. It's disappointing to finish third in front of the home crowd. Ohio State came out and did what they were supposed to. We just need to fix some little things, and we also have some guys just coming back from injury."
Senior Dave Flannery
On making his first Big Ten final ... "It feels good. It's kind of bittersweet actually, because I don't know if our team hit as well as we can. I'm supposed to be the base score and build up from that."
On competing in front of a home crowd ... "It feels great. It's awesome competing in Crisler, especially with it being my first time competing here."
Junior Luke Bottke
On his floor exercise ... "I feel very good about it. Luckily, my teammates set me up very well. I had requested earlier in the week if I could go later in the lineup, because I know the scores tend build. I was feeling ready."
On comparing this routine to others he has done ... "It was about the same. I've been working the last couple of weeks to add one more tenth of difficulty, and I left that out. This routine is pretty easy for me, so I might try a harder one tomorrow. If I did one of my best routines, I would have ended up fifth."
Players Mentioned
