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]
Regional scores have been posted. I have listed the all-around winners (optional routines) for each division, and if you click on the individual regions listed in bold above the gymnasts names, you can view all the scores. Qualifiers will compete at next month's JO Nationals in Portland, OR. [...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]
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]
