The first day of men's gymnastics competition at the 2015 JO Nationals set up Saturday's slate of Level 10 finals. The opening two rounds on Thursday consisted of qualifying JO competition, while the evening session featured the JO Elites, the nation's top club gymnasts. The JO qualifiers will compete another day of exciting optional routines on Saturday, while the JO Elites will finish up with a comparatively tame round of technical sequences. While the finals will be highly competitive [...more]
Oklahoma added to their glorious weekend, winning individual titles on two events and earning eleven more All-American honors. Leading the charge were event title winners Mike Squires (SR-16.40) and Michael Reid (PH-15.50). Squires will go down in NCAA history as one of the most dominant ring men ever, becoming only the third in history to win three straight national titles. He averaged over 16 during an undefeated season. Squires' scoring average was over a half-point [...more]
After two rotations, Oklahoma found themselves behind in the standings for the first time this season. The Sooners predictably exploded out the gate on FX, scoring a blistering 76.25, but cooled off to a lukewarm 72.65 on PH. Penn State, thanks to their NCAA record 77.60 on SR, took a short turn at the top. The Sooners came storming back, though, in the 3rd rotation, pounding out a school record 76.80 led by Mike Squires' magnificent 16.45 performance on SR. Oklahoma regained the lead and never looked back. Despite the Nittany Lions' heroic effort (a school record 76.10) on their penultimate event (FX) to keep it close, neither Penn State nor Stanford had [...more]
Oklahoma Men's Gymnastics hit the 450 mark for the third time this season, and the first time in NCAA Championship history. The Sooners (450.75) never looked back, compiling two scores of 76-plus on FX and SR en route to their big win over Michigan (437.00), Iowa (435.05), Illinois (432.45), Ohio State (427.90) and Army (408.50). Iowa was the second of two underdogs that made the final field of 6 in tomorrow night's Team Finals. For most of the meet, it was a frantic four-team battle for the two spots up for grabs to advance. The Illini had a shot, but they [...more]
Elite athletes in high school basketball and football celebrate a special day every year when it comes time to announcing where they will continue their student-athletic careers. It's called Signing Day. It's the day when sports-writing gurus throughout the country compile their list of signees and determine which colleges end up with the strongest recruiting classes. It's not a perfect science, but it certainly [...more]
A great men's gymnastics meet is when the winner is not determined until late into the final rotation. Minnesota led the Big 10 Championships most of the way, but late in the meet it suddenly turned into a very close four-team race. Due to byes, Michigan was finished and in the lead, while the remaining six teams had their final rotations. Illinois, Minnesota and Penn State had emerged in a virtual deadlock, with the three teams separated by a total of 1.3 points. Penn State had the advantage finishing on [...more]
Air Force (432.85) won their sixth straight Collegiate National Championships title over Navy (412.45), William & Mary (410.10) and Springfield (402.40). The Falcons won five out of six events, with some very lofty performances from Josh Ramos (PB-15.60), Aaron Nubine (FX-15.10), Arinn Wade (PH-15.40), Denis Aurelius (SR-15.20) and Chase Cannon (HB-15.10). Six Air Force gymnasts tallied scores of 15-plus, en route to their [...more]
The live scoring in NCAA men's gymnastics this season hasn't been as good as it has been the past four or five seasons. Now I'm not going to point fingers or put anybody or any program(s) on the hot seat, but no explanation has been made as to the drop-off in frequency and/or consistency. Live scoring is one of the best means that college MAG has at their disposal to promote the sport. Given a choice between a live stream with no commentary or a live-scoring feed, [...more]
College men's gymnastics' most exciting meet of the weekend was in Lincoln, NE. Sixth-ranked Minnesota had a seemingly insurmountable lead (363.65-358.45) over second-ranked Penn State heading into the final rotation. Luckily for Penn State, they were finishing on FX, while Minnesota was ending on PH. The Nittany Lions had a 5.2-point season advantage in the point differential for the two teams on those events. It came down to the final competitors... [...more]
Illinois hosted another match play format in a dual men's gymnastics meet against Stanford. The head-to-head contest ended up with Stanford on top (21-9), but they also prevailed on regular scores (440.30-420.40). The live webcast was very enjoyable to watch, as viewers were able to watch both teams competing on the same event. The scores were revealed after each two head-to-head competitors squared off. Whichever gymnast had the highest score, the winning team was awarded one point. In other words, the Cardinal won 21 out of 30 routines [...more]
