Wolverines Take Fourth at NCAA Championships

Friday, April 10

Norman, Okla.

7:00 PM CT

Michigan

NCAA Team and All-Around Finals

4/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics

April 11, 2015

Paul Rizkalla Jr.

• Complete Results | Notes | Photo Gallery

Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (Team Finals)
Score: 437.650 (4th of 6 teams)
U-M Record: 17-8
Next U-M Meet: Saturday, April 11 -- at NCAA Championships - Individual Event Finals (Norman, Okla.), 7 p.m. CDT

NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Michigan men's gymnastics team scored a season high of 73.90 on still rings and qualified four gymnasts for Saturday's (April 11) individual event finals but faltered in its effort in defending its NCAA crown with a 437.650 team score to take fourth at the 2015 NCAA Team Finals Friday (April 10) at Oklahoma's Lloyd Noble Center.

Four Wolverines in seniors Stacey Ervin (floor), Adrian de los Angeles (pommel horse), junior Nolan Novak (pommel horse) and freshman Dmitri Belanovski (high bar) will each partake in event finals Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT after placing in the top 10 on their respective events.

Michigan began the night on pommel horse, following the same rotation schedule that brought the Wolverines their last two NCAA championships. U-M qualified two athletes in de los Angeles, who scored a 15.00 in the No. 3 spot with his best routine of the season, and junior Nolan Novak, who anchored with a 14.95, as the Maize and Blue collected a 71.95 and sat in sixth after one rotation.

U-M came up big in the second rotation on still rings, scoring a new season high for the second night in a row with a 73.90. Senior Hub Humphrey came up big in his final NCAA Championships with a 15.10 on the No. 2 spot, while senior Colin Mahar anchored with a 15.05 to aid in the Wolverines moving into fifth with a running score of 145.850.

In the third rotation on the vault table, sophomore Anthony Stefanelli began U-M's turn with a 14.85 with a small hop on his Yurchenko two and a half, while senior Paul Rizkalla Jr. nearly stuck his Kasamatsu with one-and-a-half twist for a 14.95. The Wolverines suffered a pair of falls on the event from senior Michael Strathern and Ervin and settled for a 71.95 to remain in fifth place.

On parallel bars in the fourth, U-M marked a 72.20 to move into fourth with running total of 290.000 that was led by a 14.70 from de los Angeles. On high bar in the fifth, U-M scored a 72.05 and was led by a 14.85 from freshman Dmitri Belanovski that was good for a 14.85 and advanced him into individual event finals.

On the final rotation of the season for the Wolverines, U-M went out in style with the season-high 75.60. Senior Stacey Ervin qualified sixth with a 15.50 to lead a contingent of four Wolverines that broke the 15 plateau, while Paul Rizkalla Jr. was second amongst Wolverines with a 15.30 in his final collegiate floor routine.

Final Team Standings

1. Oklahoma    447.0502. Stanford    440.4503. Penn State  439.5004. MICHIGAN    437.6505. Cal         432.1006. Iowa        427.450

Event-by-Event Individual Scores

Pommel Horse (71.95)Mark Panhorst              13.95Adrian de los Angeles      15.00 (4)Dylan James                14.55Nick Hunter                13.50Nolan Novak                14.95 (3)Stacey Ervin *             12.75            Still Rings (73.90) Dmitri Belanovski          14.60Hub Humphrey               15.10Adrian de los Angeles      14.80Paul Rizkalla Jr.          14.35Colin Mahar                15.05Stacey Ervin *             14.10            Vault (71.95)Anthony Stefanelli         14.85Adrian de los Angeles      14.50Michael Strathern          13.65Paul Rizkalla Jr.          14.95Stacey Ervin               14.00            Parallel Bars (72.20)Mark Panhorst              14.35Dmitri Belanovski          14.05Adrian de los Angeles      14.70Stacey Ervin               14.45Nick Hunter                14.65                   High Bar (72.05)Michael Strathern          14.00Dmitri Belanovski          14.85 (9t)Adrian de los Angeles      14.40Stacey Ervin               14.45Nick Hunter                14.35            Floor Exercise (75.60)Taylor Harrower            14.35Paul Rizkalla Jr.          15.30Hub Humphrey               15.25Anthony Stefanelli         15.20Stacey Ervin               15.50 (6)Adrian de los Angeles *    14.25            All-Around 1. Akash Modi, Stanford        90.45 9. Adrian de los Angeles, U-M  87.6512. Stacey Ervin, U-M           85.25            * exhibition performance

• Qualifier Results

N O T E S

• U-M bids farewell to a senior class that collectively earned two Big Ten and NCAA championships.

• Stacey Ervin qualifies for the NCAA event finals for the fourth time in his career, while the event final will be the second of de los Angeles' career. Novak and Belanovski each advance for the first time in their U-M tenure.

• Michigan has now finished in the top four at NCAAs in each of the last three seasons.

Communications Contact: Scott Kemps (734) 763-4423