Michigan
NCAA Team and All-Around Finals
U-M Places Runner-up at NCAA Championships
4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Sports Pavilion)
Event: NCAA Championships (Team & All-Around Finals)
U-M Team Finish: 2nd Place of 6 Teams (361.500)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 18 -- at NCAA Championships - Individual Event Finals (Sports Pavilion), 7 p.m. CDT
Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team placed second at the NCAA Championships on Friday night (April 17) with a season-high score of 361.500 at the University of Minnesota's Sports Pavilion. The finish is the highest for U-M since the 2000 season, when it was also the national runner-up. Stanford was crowned the 2009 national champion (362.800), and Michigan beat out third-place Oklahoma by a mere three one-tenths of a point (361.200).
Five Wolverines advanced to tomorrow's NCAA Individual Event Finals, including sophomore Chris Cameron(Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region), who is competing on a team-best four events -- floor, pommel horse, rings, parallel bars. Also competing will be rookie Adam Hamers(Salem, Ore./South Salem) on pommel horse, senior co-captain Phil Goldberg(Dalton, Ga./McCallie) on rings, sophomore Thomas Kelley(Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) on parallel bars and high bar, and senior Joe Catrambone(Deptford, N.J./Gloucester) on high bar.
In addition to the overall season-best mark of 361.500, Michigan registered season bests on still rings (60.750), vault (62.900), and floor (61.200). There were 16 individual scores that tied or set career or season bests in tonight's meet as well.
After a bye in the initial rotation, Michigan performed on pommel horse in the second. Paced by Cameron's team season best of 15.300, the Wolverines collected 59.150 points on the event. The second-highest score came from Hamers, who tabbed a 14.900 to equal his personal best -- a mark which he originally set in yesterday's qualifying round.
Big Ten still rings champion, Goldberg, notched a team season high of 15.400 on the event to give the Wolverines a campaign-best 60.750 rings score. Cameron added a 15.300 to the mix, while senior Ralph Rosso(Morganville, N.J./St. John Vianney) amassed a season-high 15.050 to give U-M a total of 119.900 after the third rotation.
Michigan moved to the vault for the fourth rotation, where it tallied a season-high 62.900. The highest mark came from junior co-captain David Chan(Singapore/New Hale School, Perth, Western Australia), who set a season-best 15.850. Rosso and junior Mel Anton Santander(Southborough, Mass./Algonquian Regional) both earned 15.700 -- a season high for Santander -- to give the Wolverines 182.800 points.
A score of 58.250 on parallel bars gave the Maize and Blue a total of 241.050 after the fifth rotation. Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Kelley, gained a 14.750 on parallel bars to equal his career high for the second time this season, while Cameron led the Wolverines on the event with a 14.950.
On the sixth rotation, the Wolverines grabbed a 59.250 on high bar -- a mere five one-hundredths of a point away from its season best -- to give them a total of 300.300. Kelley was the highest achiever with a 15.450 on the apparatus, and Big Ten high bar champion, Catrambone, scored a 14.700 for the squad's second-best score on high bar.
U-M's season-best 61.200 on floor exercise in the seventh and final rotation led to its second-place finish and its season-high 361.500 point total. Cameron's team season best of 15.650 helped solidify Michigan's place in the standings.
Tomorrow night (Saturday, April 18), five Wolverines will compete in the NCAA Individual Event Finals at 7 p.m. CDT at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn.
Team Standings
| Team Standings | FX | PH | SR | VT | PB | HB | Total |
| 1. Stanford | 61.300 | 58.450 | 61.800 | 63.250 | 59.300 | 58.700 | 362.800 |
| 2. MICHIGAN | 61.200 | 59.150 | 60.750 | 62.900 | 58.250 | 59.250 | 361.500 |
| 3. Oklahoma | 62.750 | 57.750 | 59.950 | 64.050 | 58.250 | 58.450 | 361.200 |
| 4. California | 60.250 | 59.700 | 60.650 | 63.150 | 59.050 | 58.350 | 361.150 |
| 5. Illinois | 61.100 | 59.350 | 60.050 | 62.850 | 56.700 | 59.250 | 359.300 |
| 6. Ohio State | 60.050 | 58.350 | 61.000 | 62.550 | 56.650 | 57.350 | 355.950 |
Event-by-Event Individual Scores
FLOOR EXERCISE
Mel Anton Santander 14.050
Ben Baldus-Strauss 15.200
Scott Bregman 14.700
Ralph Rosso 15.050
Chris Cameron 15.650 (t2)
Thomas Kelley 15.300
POMMEL HORSE
Phillip Goldberg 14.100
Adam Hamers 14.900 (t7)
Mel Anton Santander 14.850
Ben Baldus-Strauss 14.050
David Chan 13.550
Chris Cameron 15.300 (3)
STILL RINGS
Mel Anton Santander 14.300
Joe Catrambone 14.650
Ralph Rosso 15.050
Thomas Kelley 15.000
Chris Cameron 15.300 (t9)
Phillip Goldberg 15.400 (5)
VAULT
Thomas Kelley 15.300
Syque Caesar 15.650
Mel Anton Santander 15.700
Ralph Rosso 15.700
Ben Baldus-Strauss 15.550
David Chan 15.850
PARALLEL BARS
Ralph Rosso 14.200
Ryan McCarthy 14.350
Chris Cameron 14.950 (t2)
Syque Caesar 14.200
David Chan 14.050
Thomas Kelley 14.750 (t6)
HIGH BAR
Ben Baldus-Strauss 14.500
Mel Anton Santander 13.300
Ryan McCarthy 14.600
Chris Cameron 14.400
Joe Catrambone 14.700 (t8)
Thomas Kelley 15.450 (2)
( ) denotes place in the Top 10
Previous Results: Day 1
Contact: Hannah Maier, Robby McBurnett (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
