No. 4 Wolverines Look to Lock Up Big Ten Regular-Season Title This Weekend

» A win over the Nittany Lions would secure a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
» Following the meet, the Wolverines will honor former longtime head coach Kurt Golder, as well as the program's senior class.
» Paul Juda, the two-time defending Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, will miss the meet as he is competing at the FIG World Cup event in Cairo, Egypt.

This Week
Friday, March 18 -- vs. No. 7 Penn State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network | Live Scoring | Live Video

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team hosts the No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions on Friday (March 18) on Senior Day at Cliff Keen Arena. The matchup will commence at 7 p.m., and will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network. The meet will also honor former longtime former head coach Kurt Golder, who retired prior to the season.

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan can lock up yet another Big Ten regular season title with a win over the Nittany Lions. Entering the meet with a 2-1 Big Ten record, a victory would move U-M to 3-1 and tie them with the winner of the Ohio State vs. Nebraska matchup. Michigan captured the title last season with a 6-0 mark, and was in first place in the conference in 2020 prior to COVID canceling the season, and earned a three-way share of the title in 2019.

• U-M ranks as the No. 4 team in the country in the RTN rankings (406.517). The Wolverines are No. 2 on still rings (68.450) and are ranked third on parallel bars (67.533). U-M also checks in at No. 4 on vault (71.333) and high bar (65.617).

• Junior Paul Juda leads the nation on high bar with a 14.333 average and is also No. 4 on pommel horse (13.850) and seventh on parallel bars (14.050). Senior Nicholas Guy (sixth, 14.583) and freshman David Wolma (ninth, 14.533) check-in with top-10 rankings on vault. Sophomore Javier Alfonso ranks fourth on still rings (13.940), and classmate Evgeny Siminiuc ranks fifth (14.177) on parallel bars.

• For his performance against Illinois, Juda earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors for the second-straight week. Juda took a trio of event titles, winning vault (14.85) and high bar (14.45). He also added a 13.85 on floor exercise, and 13.95s on pommel horse, still rings, and parallel bars en route to an all-around title win with a mark of 85.000.

• Juda will miss the meet this Friday as he is competing in the FIG World Cup Event in Cairo, Egpyt. The event will be held March 17-20 at Cairo International Stadium. He will team up with Stanford's Ian Lasic-Ellis in search of individual event titles. Qualifications for floor exercise, pommel horse, and still rings will take place on Thursday (March 17) with the top-eight gymnasts advancing to apparatus finals. Vault, parallel bars, and high bar qualifications are slated for Friday (March 18), with finals to follow on Sunday (March 20).

• The Wolverines have stuck nine landings, have counted 39 scores above the 14-plateau, and have hit 128 routines on the season.

• Kurt Golder retired on Nov. 29, 2021 following 25 seasons as Michigan's head coach. Just the fourth coach in the program's history, Golder led the Wolverines to four NCAA championships (1999, 2010, 2013, 2014) and six Big Ten Conference titles. Named the NCAA regional and national coach of the year in 1999, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2021, Golder produced 118 NCAA All-Americans, 17 NCAA individual national champions and 40 individual Big Ten champions.

• The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 7 in the country (395.167). The squad ranks No. 7 on three events; pommel horse (64.517), vault (70.783) and high bar (64.600) and eighth on floor (66.383), still rings (65.717), and parallel bars (64.717).

• Michigan native Michael Jaroh is PSU's top overall gymnast, and ranks fifth on still rings (13.917), ninth on high bar (13.600), and No. 10 on parallel bars (13.850). Matt Cormier is their top all-arounder with a 75.833 average score.

Tweet of the Week

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Paul Juda has taken home Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for his trio of event wins at Illinois!#GoBlue?? pic.twitter.com/T4MBG8Nj3S
— Michigan Gymnastics ?? (@UMichGym) March 14, 2022

Keep Up With the Wolverines

Stay current with everything going on with the Wolverines by following Michigan men's gymnastics on Twitter (@umichgym) and "liking" the Wolverines on Facebook! Fans can also follow in-meet commentary via the Twitter channel, with live streaming available for select meets via Facebook as well. Additional content will be provided via Instagram (@umichgym).

Up Next

Friday, March 18 -- vs. No. 7 Penn State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m., BTN