December is normally a cheerful month, filled with happiness and eagerness to take part in the joyous act of giving. Though stressful, the countdown to Christmas often culminates in a week-long respite from work. Sometimes, though, bad things happen. Much like a thoughtless employer laying off a productive worker right before the holidays, or a government agency delivering bad news with a feckless Friday afternoon news dump, Temple University announced on Friday the [...more]
Some big names topped the list of early signees in college MAG. It appears that Michigan will easily have the top-ranked recruiting class, as they signed Swiss Turners' super combo Marvin Kimble and Dmitri Belanovski and Azarian's Marty Strech. Swiss Turners had four gymnasts sign LOIs, which undoubtedly is the most of any club. Oklahoma signed only one gymnast, but it was a big one. As expected, the Sooners landed [...more]
The entire field is now set for the 2013 U.S. Championships, complete with a new sponsor. Procter & Gamble, the Cincinnati-based behemoth, whose products can be found in virtually every room of the house, is signed on at least through the remainder of the Quad. 2012 Olympian Danell Leyva led the Senior field (87.00) at the weekend Qualifier in Colorado Springs, highlighted by his performances on PB (15.50) and HB (15.85). It was Leyva's first competition since his [...more]
The list of current NCAA gymnasts at least 6 feet tall remains at well over a dozen, as it always has since I started doing this five years ago. Limited to the information listed on the official team websites, the list would undoubtedly be larger, but not all teams list the gymnasts' heights. I'll gladly add more gymnasts to the list if anybody wishes to submit names and heights. [...more]
In Sunday's finale of the Michigan/Sam Mikulak show, it was more Michigan and more Sam. The Wolverines piled up a total of eleven more All-American performances, including five from Sam. Oh yeah, he took home two more national title trophies on PB (15.50) and HB (16.10). His teammates got into the act, too. Adrian de los Angeles, who has to be one tired gymnast, claimed another All-American honor on PB. Syque Caesar capped off [...more]
They simply ran into a buzzsaw this weekend. Oklahoma (440.10), that is. Their gutsy performance at the 2013 NCAA Championships fell short, as Michigan put together two straight days of consistently outstanding gymnastics. Nearly matching their Friday night score of 443.85, the Wolverines (443.20) overwhelmed the field of six at the meet hosted by Penn State. Their opening salvo came on their first event, pommel horse (72.25), where they posted a meet high and sent an ominous sign [...more]
Michigan hit for an astounding 75-plus on three events to easily post the highest team score (443.85) in the Qualifier for Saturday's night's finals of the 2013 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships. Host Penn State (436.90) and Stanford (435.85) had the next two highest scores, as they placed 1-2 in the second session. Oklahoma (433.85), the nation's 2nd-ranked team, easily qualified with their 2nd place finish in the early session. Defending champs Illinois (426.90) benefited from Minnesota's (424.70) pommel horse meltdown [...more]
In the penultimate weekend of college men's gymnastics competition, Michigan, Oklahoma and Temple captured their respective conference team titles. Penn State, Oklahoma and Michigan were ranked 1-2-3, and there is no question that these teams will be the favorites going into the NCAA Championships (April 19-21). The pre-season rankings had Illinois at the top, followed by Michigan, Oklahoma and Penn State. Since opening weekend, Penn State has had a virtual stranglehold on the [...more]
Oklahoma is mounting a late-season surge, putting up the nation's top 5-Up/5-Count team score (441.25) in their final home meet against Ohio State (426.75). Since the new scoring format went into effect on March 1, the Sooners have the highest average (436.73) by the skinniest of margins over Penn State (436.62... not counting their Puerto Rico exhibition). The upcoming NCAA Championships are now shaping up to be completely up for grabs. The regular season is now complete, with conference championships looming [...more]
Less than three years ago, Cal Men’s Gymnastics was on the ropes. The MAG community banded together to help save the 100-year-old program. A reprieve was granted, and today’s resulting roster is mostly comprised of a young group of non-scholarship athletes. Granted, Cal’s allure as one of the top academic institutions serves up plenty of incentive to attend, it’s still quite shameful that the school chose to de-fund such a prestigious Olympic sport. To keep the program running will require a [...more]
