Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Wolverines Earn Fourth Straight Big Ten Championship; Richard Takes All-Around Title
4/5/2024 11:13:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
» The Wolverines wrapped up their fourth-straight Big Ten postseason title and 21st in program history with a team score of 418.100, besting second-place and host institution Illinois (413.750)
» Richard's all-around score of 83.900 gives him his second title in as many years, and is the 19th all-around title in program history.
» Michigan has now secured four-straight titles for the second time in program history after achieving the feat in the early 1960's.
Site: Champaign, Ill. (State Farm Center)
Score: 1st Place of Five teams (418.100)
Record: U-M (16-2)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 6 -- Big Ten Individual Finals (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CT, BTN
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team secured its fourth-straight Big Ten Championship with a 418.100 team score on Friday (April 5) inside Illinois' State Farm Center. Sophomore Fred Richard also captured his second-straight Big Ten all-around title with a combined event score of 83.900.
U-M's four-straight titles replicate a similar run of success from the early 1960's, as the Wolverines reeled in six titles from 1961-66.
Michigan (16-2) trailed for the first three rotations, but blew away the competition in the second half of he meet. The team score was good enough to best host institution Illinois (413.750), as well as top-seeded Nebraska (407.350).
How it Happened
Floor Exercise
The Wolverines began their quest towards a four-peat on floor, but were forced to count a fall in the leadoff spot. Following a 13.85 from Richard in the second spot, Paul Juda ripped off a 14.75 and Landen Blixt followed with a 14.45 as U-M compiled a 68.850 on the exercise and sat in second by 1.7 points behind Nebraska.
Pommel Horse
Freshman Kevin Chow led off on pommel horse with a 12.50, with sophomore Zach Granados tallying a 13.20. The third spot was highlighted by a stellar effort from Juda with a 14.05 on the apparatus. Blixt closed out the rotation with a 13.80, just .05 off a career high. In all, U-M tallied a 66.350 on the event, and slid into third after two rotations.
Still Rings
Junior Rithik Puri led off on rings with a 14.00, while Richard led the Wolverine contingent with a 14.35 for a team score of 69.550. At the midway point, U-M had a running total of 204.840 and trailed Illinois by 5.75 points.
Vault
A season-high 73.300 for the Wolverines gave U-M the lead in the meet by 3.3 points. Juda marked a 15.05 while Blixt registered a career-high 15.00 on the table. Richard scored a 14.45 on the event as well, and moved into third-place in the all-around with a running score of 55.550.
Parallel Bars
Blixt led off with a 13.75, and 2022 Big Ten parallel bar champion senior Evgeny Siminiuc registered a 14.55 in the second spot. Senior Crew Bold also excelled with a 14.60, while Richard (14.75) and sophomore Logan McKeown (13.45) closed out the set.
High Bar
Michigan held a comfortable lead heading into the final rotation of 5.6 points, but was forced to count a pair of falls from Richard (13.60) that were still good enough to take home the all-around title. Juda scored a 13.10 on high bar, while Siminiuc and Bold both paced the Wolverines with matching 14.10's. The Maize & Blue marked an event total of 68.600 on the final event of the night to secure the four-peat.
Up Next
Michigan qualified nine gymnasts in 18 routines into the individual event finals. With Richard choosing not to compete due to load management, eight gymnasts will compete on 14 routines -- led by Juda and Blixt on three events (floor exercise, pommel horse and vault). Siminiuc and Bold will both compete on parallel bars and high bar. Rithik and Akshay Puri will compete on still rings, while Chris Read and Noll will compete on high bar.
The competition will commence on Saturday (April 6) at 7 p.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
