Elkind Receives Five Awards Presented at Team Picnic

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's gymnastics program handed out team awards Monday (April 23) at its postseason picnic held at Burns Park. Senior/junior co-captain Andrew Elkind (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East HS) highlighted the evening, capturing a team-high five awards, one of which was the team MVP. For the first time in program history head coach Kurt Golder gave out the Academic Excellence award, which was presented to the individuals that earned the U-M Academic Achievement Award.

Elkind also claimed the honors of Most Improved Competitor, Best Work Ethic, and Outstanding Championship Competitor, and he took home one of the team's Academic Excellence awards. In 2007 Elkind earned his first NCAA All-America citation, tying for fourth place on the parallel bars at the NCAA Individual Finals (April 14). He was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week (March 7) after claiming both the high bar and p-bar titles against No. 5 Stanford (March 3). Elkind claimed a total of eight event titles in 2007, the most among the Wolverines, and he holds the U-M record on the parallel bars with a 9.800 against Iowa (Jan. 20).

Fifth-year senior co-captain Justin Laury (Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS) earned the Outstanding Championship Career Competitor award for claiming NCAA All-America honors in the all-around four times (2003-05, '07). Laury was also an All-American in the pommel horse in 2007. Laury owns the highest vault score among the Wolverines, a 9.050 he scored at the Big Ten Championships Team Final (March 30). Laury is U-M's most recent all-around Big Ten champion, claiming the title in 2005 with a career-best score of 56.200.

Senior Aaron Rakes (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar HS) was given the Oustanding Accomplishment laurel after claiming his first Big Ten Individual title. Rakes took first place on the high bar with a career-record score of 9.475, which is also the highest score among the 2007 Wolverines. Rakes is the Maize and Blue's first high bar champion since 2000, when Daniel Diaz-Luong claimed the title, and is the 11th high bar champion for U-M since 1961.

Junior Daniel Rais (Livonia, Mich./Franklin HS) was named Best Leadoff for the 2007 season after leading off for the Wolverines for the NCAA Championships. In the NCAA Team Qualifier, Rais competed on the floor exercise (9.300), vault (8.600) and high bar (8.450) and was the leadoff on the high bar. In the NCAA Team Finals, Rais was the leadoff man on the high bar and scored a 9.000.

Freshman DJ Chan (Singapore, Singapore/Hale School) and junior/sophomore Paul Woodward (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles HS) were named the Outstanding Championships Competitors. Chan earned All-America honors on the vault after competing on the apparatus for just the third time of the year. The first time Chan competed on the vault was at the NCAA Team Qualifier, when he scored a 8.900. The next night he tied the team's highest score of 9.050 at the NCAA Team Finals. Woodward was named an alternate on the pommel horse for the NCAA Individual Finals after scoring an 8.850 at the team finals.

Golder named sophomore Kent Caldwell (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin HS) and Chan as the Most Conscientious individuals on the team. Caldwell and Chan earned the award for being conscientious about making sure they finished everything the coach asked them to do. Caldwell's efforts paid off, earning him six individual titles on the floor, the highest amount on one event for the Maize and Blue. Chan's dedication was demonstrated at the NCAA Championships, where he became the 12th vault All-American for U-M and the second since 2003.

Golder also gave the Coaches Appreciation Award to sophomore/freshman Ryan McCarthy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community HS), sophomore/freshman John Sawicki (Westfield, N.J./Westfield HS) and junior/sophomore Arren Yoshimura (Denver, Colo./George Washington HS). The three Wolverines served as alternates throughout the NCAA Championships.

The coaches also recognized the entire team for hard work done throughout the summer, presenting the Wolverines with a Most Productive Summer award for the first time in program history.

The Wolverines finished the 2007 season with a 20-13 overall record and a 12-7 mark against Big Ten competition, taking fourth place at the NCAA Team Finals.

Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423