No. 5 Wolverines to Tangle with No. 8 Buckeyes
2/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Feb. 25, 2015
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Feb. 28 -- at No. 8 Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 4 p.m.
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The No. 5 University of Michigan men's gymnastics team (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten), coming off a week off from team action, returns to action Saturday (Feb. 28) at 4 p.m. against the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes from St. John Arena in Columbus. The meet will be streamed via Buckeye Vision free of charge.
• U-M is 14-7 against Ohio State in dual meets under head coach Kurt Golder and has won the last seven matchups in the series dating back to 2007.
• U-M ranks in the top five in the country on four events, highlighted by a No.1 ranking on vault (74.283), No. 3 on floor exercise (74.367), No. 3 on pommel horse (72.400) and No. 4 on high bar (72.183). Individually, Stacey Ervin leads all Wolverines with a No. 1 ranking on floor (15.567) and is No. 2 on vault (15.350). Senior Nick Hunter (14.933) holds the No. 8 ranking on pommel horse.
• Ohio State is No. 8 in the most-recent CGA Coaches Poll after being picked to win the Big Ten in the preseason coaches' poll. The lone event Ohio State ranks in the top five in the country on is high bar, where the squad boasts a three-score average of 72.100. The Buckeyes are No. 7 on rings, vault and parallel bars. The Buckeyes are led by Larry Mayer, who is No. 4 in the country on vault (15.050), and by Drew Moling, who is No. 9 in the country on rings (15.267) and on high bar (14.833). OSU has been hit hard by the injury bug this year, as their top three all-arounders in Jake Martin, Jake Dastrup and Sean Melton have all missed significant time due to injury.
• According to RoadToNationals.com, Dmitri Belanovski leads the team in all events points with 194.750. He is followed by sophomore Tristian Perez-Rivera, who is second on the squad at 182.600. Stacey Ervin (162.350) and Marty Strech (142.400) round out the top four.
• Four current Wolverines, as well as undergraduate assistant coach Sam Mikulak, took part in the 2015 Winter Cup Feb. 19-21. Senior Stacey Ervin led the way on floor with a two-day score of 30.55, which was good for a second-place finish. Mikulak rebounded after a rough first day with the best all-around score of the final day of competition with an 87.85.
Ervin scored a 15.05 on floor with a 15.45 vault and also turned in an 11th-place finish on parallel bars (28.50) on day two. Fellow senior Adrian de los Angeles earned a top-12 finish on pommel horse, as he took 12th with a two-day tally of 28.90. Freshman Dmitri Belanovski took 22nd in the all-around, with a total score of 163.200. His top single event score came on high bar (27.25), and he added a 28.00 on floor, which was good for 24th. Senior Nick Hunter took part in the first day of competition but failed to qualify for the second day of action.
• In U-M's last full-team competition on Feb. 14, the Wolverines set a season-high team score of 439.600 and set season bests on floor, rings and vault. No. 1 Oklahoma went on to mark an NCAA-record team score of 456.400 in Norman. Senior Nick Hunter won the parallel bar title for U-M, while Stacey Ervin took second on vault with a 15.45. The Sooners eclipsed the 75.00 plateau on every event and were paced by a 77.050 on high bar. OU's Kanji Oyama won the all-around with a 91.00 while reigning NCAA rings champion Michael Squires marked a 16.30 on the event.
• Prior to the trip to Norman, Michigan downed then-No. 2 Stanford 433.900-432.650 on Feb. 7, a night that also saw the Wolverines unveil their 2014 NCAA championship banner. U-M eclipsed then season highs on floor, rings, and high bar. The win also improved U-M to 2-0 in the last two seasons on NCAA banner night.
• For his performance against Stanford, senior Stacey Ervin earned co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors for the week ending on Feb. 9. Ervin won the 13th floor exercise title of his career with a 15.80. He also led the team's effort on parallel bars (15.05), where he took second in the meet, and on vault, where he scored a 15.15 to take third in the meet. The weekly honor is the first for a Wolverine this season, and the fourth of Ervin's career, as he earned the accolade on March 10 of last season and Feb. 18 of the 2013 season. He was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 19, 2013.
• Next up for undergraduate assistant coach Sam Mikulak is the AT&T American Cup, which will take place on Saturday (March 7) at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The FIG World Cup Event. Mikulak will be one of two Americans participating in the meet, as he will be joined by Donnell Whittenburg.
Invitations to compete in the AT&T American Cup are based on performances at the 2014 World Gymnastics Championships, held last October in Nanning, China. The event is the third and final event in the 2014-15 FIG All-around World Cup Series.
• In addition to all-arounder Dmitri Belanovski's U-M debut this season, classmate Marty Strech has competed on rings and high bar, giving Michigan fans the first glimpse of the jewels of the No. 1 incoming freshman class in the nation, according to StickItMedia. Additionally, senior/junior Reid Swanger took part in his first NCAA meet since Jan. 28, 2012, as he competed on still rings at the Windy City Invite, while sophomore Adam Dean made his NCAA debut against Penn State.
2015 CGA Coaches' Poll Top 10 (2/23/15)
First-place votes in parentheses
1. Oklahoma (16)
2. Illinois
T3. Penn State (1)
T3. Stanford
5. Michigan
6. California
7. Iowa
8. Ohio State
9. Minnesota
10. Air Force
• U-M came in ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll. The selection moved U-M's streak of being selected in the top two in the preseason poll to six years in a row, and the last time U-M was outside of the top two was prior to the start of the 2009 season. Additionally, Michael Strathern and Adrian de los Angeles each earned a place on the Gymnasts to Watch list.
• Over the summer, sophomore Tristian Perez-Rivera represented U-M at the 2014 FIG World Championships qualifications Oct. 4-5.Perez-Rivera's top scores came on high bar with a 13.266 (99th), and placed 103rd on floor with a 13.933.
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the upcoming season are $25, and feature:
- Access to priority season-ticket holder seating at all meets
- Tickets to all home Michigan men's and women's gymnastics meets
- Women's gymnastics pre-meet chalk talk
- Concession discount for a Michigan men's gymnastics meet
- Early access to women's Big Ten Championship tickets
- Season-ticket holder credential and lanyard; invite to attend open training session
- Tickets can be purchased by logging onto MGoBlue.com/tickets
Ways to Follow U-M Gymnastics
For fans not able to attend meets this season, there are several ways to follow the Wolverines action this year. Your primary source for all things Michigan is MGoBlue.com, where recaps, features, schedules, and statistics can be found. Live results will be provided for all home meets, as well as select away meets. Additionally, follow @umichgym for live updates at meets, and 'like' Michigan men's gymnastics on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram @umichgym, where special content can be found throughout the season.
NEXT UP
Friday, March 6 -- vs. Mexico/Puerto Rico National Team (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Communications Contact: Scott Kemps (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
