In a much anticipated matchup, 3rd-ranked Oklahoma hit the road to take on 2nd-ranked Michigan. Despite competing without the nation's top all-arounder Adrian de los Angeles and the top-ranked gymnast on PB, Syque Caesar, the Wolverines led all the way until the final routine on the last event. Danny Berardini hit for a 14.80 on PB to clinch the win for the Sooners. Both teams had relative meltdowns on PB, scoring well [...more]
A revolutionary effort to shake things up in College Men's Gymnastics took place last night in Champaign, IL. Host Illinois took on Minnesota in the first ever Match Play format. Carrying on with the 5-up/5-count system, each team went head-to-head on each event in Olympic order. The team behind in the score was then allowed to put their man up last, which allowed for some great strategy, since there were [...more]
In the weekend's marquee matchup, top-ranked Penn State (438.90) traveled west of the Poconos for the first time this season to prevail over Illinois (436.25), in their closest contest thus far. It came down to the final event (PB) for the Nittany Lions, as they were trailing by 1.25 points, thanks to the Illini's season-best effort on PB (74.25). Unfortunately for the host team, Penn State's team average on PB is a good four points higher than the Illinois' team average on their final event (HB). The visitors hit [...more]
In another packed weekend of college men’s gymnastics, we saw pretty much a full slate of activity. Illinois (438.60) has developed a flair for the dramatic, as they were involved in another tussle, this time it was on the road at Ohio State (438.00). The Illini scored high enough on their final rotation (PB) to eke out a tight victory by less than a point. Representing about a ten-point turnaround from their narrow loss last weekend to Iowa, Coach Justin Spring’s boys ended up with their [...more]
The 2013 NCAA Men's Gymnastics season is shaping up to produce one of the deepest and competitive groups of Still Rings athletes in recent memory. At least nine gymnasts have hit for 15.50 or better so far, and 27 have posted a score of 15.00 or better. The top 10 rankings have been very dynamic and will no doubt change several times by season's end. As to which gymnasts will fill the top [...more]
Hitting a team score of 440 or better is becoming old hat for three teams in NCAA men's gymnastics. Now the race is on to see which team will become the first to bust through 450. Michigan became the 3rd team to crack the 440 barrier this weekend, as they established the nation's third-best team score of the season (446.15), with their big road win over Ohio State (435.65). Stacey Ervin had a big day for the Wolverines, setting a [...more]
In a rare Friday afternoon matinee, 8th-ranked host Iowa (422.75) upended 6th-ranked Minnesota (419.45). Both teams had athletes competing in Las Vegas at Winter Cup, and several Gophers were under the weather, but a highly competitive match still ensued. Seniors Anton Gryshayev and Javier Balboa starred for the Hawkeyes. Balboa won on PB (15.10) and the AA (85.95), while Gryshayev continued his [...more]
As most gymnastics fans like to see, the 2013 Winter Cup came down to the final event. Michigan's Adrian de los Angeles clung to a slim .35 lead over Olympian Jake Dalton. De los Angeles had a nice routine on PH (13.30), but struggled a bit with his dismount. No doubt tired at the end of his very long routine, his bobble was just enough [...more]
A mere four tenths of a point separated 1st and 3rd place in the all-around at the 2013 Winter Cup. Michigan's Adrian de los Angeles (85.80) edged out Olympians Danell Leyva (85.50) and Jake Dalton (85.40) to lead the field after the qualifying round. De los Angeles needed an explosive FX routine (15.45) to eke out his slim margin. He was steady on everything else, and posted top 5 scores on three events (FX, PH, SR). Leyva had three [...more]
It was another busy weekend in men's gymnastics, and the marquee matchup featured the duel in Happy Valley between top-ranked Penn State and 5th-ranked Ohio State. The top two freshmen all-arounders, Trevor Howard and Jake Martin, showed why they were pre-season picks to be serious contenders for the NCAA title. Going into their final respective events, the two were separated by only .35 points, with Ohio State's Martin clinging [...more]
