Michigan
NCAA Qualifier
Michigan Advances to NCAA Finals With Season-Best Team Score in Qualifier
4/14/2023 10:35:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
» Michigan qualified for the NCAA Finals in third place with a season-high score of 413.455, behind Oklahoma's 415.491 and Penn State's 415.290.
» Fred Richard marked the top score of the session on parallel bars with a 15.033 to score the second-best score in the country. U-M also marked a new season best on parallel bars with a team score of 70.565.
» The Wolverines hit 25-of-30 routines, with nine stuck landings.
Site: State College, Pa. (Rec Hall)
Event: NCAA Championships (Qualifier Session II)
Score: 3rd Place of 6 teams (413.992)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 15 -- at NCAA Finals (State College, Pa.), 6 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The third-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team advanced to the NCAA Team finals with a season-high 413.992 team score to place third in the second session of the NCAA Championships Qualifier on Friday (April 14) at Penn State's Rec Hall.
U-M (18-8) qualified fourth in the overall pair of sessions behind Stanford (421.488), Oklahoma (415.491) and host Penn State (415.290) and moves on to the NCAA Finals on Saturday (April 15) at 6 p.m.
U-M's night began on parallel bars, scoring a season-best 70.565. Freshman Fred Richard tallied the second-best score in the nation with a 15.033 to lead the event on the night, while junior Evgeny Siminiuc ripped off a 14.666. Senior Virgil Watkins also returned to the U-M lineup after missing nearly a month due to injury. He secured a 14.133 in his only routine of the night. After one rotation, U-M sat in second behind Oklahoma by .034 points.
The Wolverines suffered three falls on high bar, resulting in a team score of 65.599 in the second rotation. Senior Crew Bold led the effort with a 13.933 on the event as the Wolverines slid into third place by 2.40 points with a running score of 136.164.
Michigan got back on track on floor exercise, marking a 70.132 in the third rotation, led by matching 14.233s from senior Adam Wooten and freshman Landen Blixt. The Maize and Blue had a running total of 206.296, moving back into second place and closing the gap with the Sooners (1.134).
Following a 65.766 on pommel horse and team score of 272.062, U-M was in third by 1.200 points in comparison to Penn State and 6.667 points behind the leader, Oklahoma. A 69.531 on still rings, led by a 14.300 from junior Javier Alfonso, improved U-M's team score to 341.593 and into a safe position to qualify for Saturday's NCAA Finals.
The Wolverines closed out the night on vault, where junior Chris Read scored a career-high 14.733, with sophomore David Wolma matching with a 14.733 of his own as U-M compiled a 72.399, with all-five vaulters scoring 14.20-plus, and ended the night with a 413.992 to qualify third.
In all, four Wolverines made their NCAA debuts on the night in Richard, Blixt, sophomore Logan McKeown, and freshman Zach Granados.
U-M stuck nine landings and hit 25-of-30 (83 percent) on the night.
Tweet of the Meet
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— Michigan Gymnastics ? (@UMichGym) April 15, 2023
With a team tally of 413.992, we qualify in third-place for tomorrow's team finals.#GoBlue?? pic.twitter.com/x7zvR1b2XL
Players Mentioned
