Week 6 #NCAAMGym Recap Presented by TURN
What happened this past weekend in the world of NCAA men’s gymnastics? Look no further than the #NCAAMGym Weekly Recap, presented by TURN.
Southwest Cup
Stanford was dominant, again. They scored 420+ for the second time this season and hit their fifth-straight score above the 400-mark. After a week off for all of them, Stanford’s stars were back in the lineup competing in the all-around. Brandon Briones (85.3), Brody Malone (84.2), Ian Gunther (81.7) and Riley Loos (79.95) paved the way for the Cardinal.
We may be witnessing a historic run on parallel bars for Stanford. They posted a massive 72.65 at Arizona State, although the scores were admittedly high. This should not take away from what they have done. They now have a three-score average of 70.85, over two-and-a-half points higher than the next best team.
Ohio State took second with an impressive performance, scoring over the 400-mark for the third-straight time. Freshman Kazuki Hayashi stood out once again with a great performance on floor to take the title (14.15). He was joined by Trevor Cummings who took the pommel horse title with a 14.25, to lead what is becoming a very impressive lineup once again.
Jesse Tyndall and Angel Leon were solid in their freshman year debuts but have taken that next step in 2020. Tyndall took second on floor (14.0) and fifth on high bar (13.5). Leon added a fourth place finish on rings (13.95) to go along with a second place nod on high bar (13.95).
A 408.15 with Justin Ah Chow taking the week off and Max Andryuschenko only competing on one event is impressive. Ohio State is already defying preseason expectations and will likely continue to get better.
Cal took third with 396.4, highlighted by performances from Jonathan Wang and Darren Wong. Wang took sixth in the deep all-around field with a 79.5 and adds much needed depth for his team after the departure of Aaron Mah. Wong took third on parallel bars in a loaded field with a 14.6.
Arizona State rounded out the field and were led by another great performance by Kiwan Watts. Watts took fourth in the all-around with a 81.5 and took the high bar title with a 14.0, where he now ranks No. 3 in the country. ASU did struggle on pommel horse, scoring a 61.3. Improvements here could have them well into the 390s.
Iowa @ Oklahoma
The Sooners put up their second-highest score of the season at their first home meet of 2020, defeating Iowa, 411.6-403.25.
Oklahoma hit season-highs on pommel horse (66.8) and high bar (68.4). That high bar total is the third-highest posted by any team this season, and OU now ranks in the top three on four of six events.
OU swept the event titles, but Iowa’s Evan Davis came out on top in the all-around with an 81.95. They also had the top team score on every event except vault.
Earning event titles for the Sooners were junior Gage Dyer (FX — 14.55, PB — 14.0, HB — 13.95), RS freshman Braden Collier (PH — 13.95), RS junior Matt Wenske (SR — 13.9), and RS sophomore Mason Menser (V — 14.65). Dyer also went for a Kaz double full on vault but landed short. Here’s to hoping he sticks with it.
The Sooners travel to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan this weekend. It should be one of the weekend’s best matchups.
Vault was a particular high point for Iowa, whose 71.95 on the event was a huge season-best. Their team score was also a solid improvement over the week before, and they earned a season-high on parallel bars with a 66.7.
Davis was Iowa’s lone individual winner, but Mitch Mandozzi (HB — 13.65, V — 14.5), Amari Sewell (V — 14.55), and Nicholas Merryman (PB — 13.9) picked up podium finishes. Davis finished in the top-three on floor (14.2), rings (13.6) and parallel bars (13.8) as well. We should point out that freshman Sewell’s crisp Kaz 1.5 was his first of the season and that Mandozzi continues to stick his Yurchenko double full as consistently as anyone.
Iowa looks solid, and they have plenty of momentum to carry them through the Winter Cup off-weekend and into five-up, five-count. They’re off this weekend.
NIU, UIC @ Michigan
The Wolverines showed out in their home opener, posting a season best 413.4 and have improved every weekend they have competed. The real story here was the breakout performance from freshman Paul Juda. After a lackluster first two meets, Juda broke out to score career highs on all events he competed. The day included three first place finishes on floor (14.2), vault (14.45) and high bar (14.3).
Michigan has been top-notch on high bar and continued the trend this weekend, scoring a 67.0. They are now No. 1 in the country there, along with No. 2 rankings on both pommel horse and parallel bars. What makes this team even scarier is their early relative struggles on floor where they are ranked No. 9. This lack of execution will not hold for long, especially when Jacob Moore returns to the lineup.
Winning event titles along with Juda were Mack Lasker (PH - 14.25), James Read (SR - 13.95) and Cameron Bock (PB - 15.05). It was an impressive day for Kurt Golder’s team who look to be leading the Big Ten.
UIC finished in second place with a 357.95, their second-highest score of the season. Sam Montague had a great day, finishing in seventh on floor (13.1), sixth on vault (13.5) and tying for sixth on high bar (12.45). Nick Smiley also performed well, notching seventh place finishes on rings (11.95) and parallel bars (12.6).
Northern Illinois finished in third place and was highlighted by a sixth place finish on floor from David Dortmund (13.2).
Washington @ Minnesota
Minnesota dipped below 400 again this weekend in their win over Washington at home.
The Gophers finished with a 398 flat for roughly the same team score they posted the week prior at Iowa. They rested some of their top guys, including Shane Wiskus, but nonetheless swept the event titles. Freshman Donte McKinney picked up three titles, (PH — 13.25, V — 14.5, HB — 13.8), classmate Crew Bold won rings (13.45), sophomore Mike Moran won floor (13.75) and lone senior Timmy Kutyla earned the parallel bars gold (13.6).
Washington improved on their performance at the Pac-12 Invite by nearly 10 points. Their 375.55 at Minnesota was their second-highest team total this season, and they hit a season-high on pommel horse with a 62.15. Horse was led by freshman Luka Sisauri, who finished second with a 13.2.
The most unusual part of the meet was the scoring. Minnesota decided to try out a 10.0 conversation system. Although judges continued to give traditional FIG scores, the scores that were flashed during the meet were all below 10. It gave the competition an air of nostalgia, and it’s uncertain if the scoring system was easier for fans to understand. Calls by gymnastics alumni and fans to return to the 10.0 have proven contentious, so the future of the conversion system remains to be seen.
Minnesota travels to Lincoln this weekend to take on the Huskers and Army in what should be the best match-up of the weekend. Washington faces Springfield and Temple on Sunday.
Springfield @ Illinois
Illinois posted a season-high team score for the second consecutive week in their win over Springfield at home.
The Illini tallied a 409.7 for the third-best Big Ten team score so far this season, slightly behind the 409.85 the Huskers posted Week 4 (which the Illini threw into question Week 5). Illinois finally cleaned up on parallel bars, posting a 67.75 for an almost two-point season-high, and also had a season-best performance on high bar with a 67.1. The Illini remain No. 1 in the Big Ten on rings, and the case that they’re the most formidable Big Ten team contender became stronger once again last weekend.
Illinois swept the podium on every event. Earning titles were freshman Connor McCool (FX — 14.55), sophomore Ian Skirkey (PH — 14.0), senior Danny Graham (R — 14.1), sophomore Hamish Carter (V — 14.4), senior Sebastian Quiana (PB — 14.15) and junior Jordan Kovach (HB — 13.55). Carter also won the all-around with a 79.25.
The Illini are off this weekend and will enter the second-half of the season as the top dog in the Big Ten.
Springfield took a slight step back last weekend against Illinois. Their 374.65 was a roughly six-and-a-half point drop from their score the week prior, when they narrowly lost to Army at home.
The events that cost them the most were pommel horse and high bar. They scored a 58.05 against Illinois on horse after recording a 61-flat against Army the week before. On parallel bars, their 60.45 was an over three-point drop from the previous meet.
Springfield did improve on floor and vault, though. Senior Stephen Lewis took fourth on floor with a 13.6 while Lewis and junior John Murphy tied for fifth on vault with 14.25s.
Springfield takes on Temple and Washington at home this weekend. They’ll look to get back above 380.
All-Academy Championship
For the fourth consecutive competition Navy has scored above a 400 team total. This past weekend at the All-Academy Championship the Mids recorded a 407.7, just 0.1 away from their highest team score this season (three weeks ago at the Navy Open). Navy’s dominance on four of the six events helped them edge out academy rival Army by more than 13 points and Air Force by more than 20 points.
The No. 6 ranked Mids impressed the most on floor exercise (69.85), still rings (69.95) and vault (70.85). After six weeks of competition, the Midshipmen are No. 3 on rings and fourth on vault. Another apparatus that has a plus for this team is high bar. On this day in particular they were able to record an impressive 66.65 which has placed them No. 3 on the event after six weeks.
Along with having the highest score on four of the six events, Navy collected four out of the six event titles. Sophomore Josh Williams topped the competition on floor with a 14.15 and on rings with a 14.4. Lucas Beltran’s massive 14.9 was the highest score of the night on vault and Ben Provost’s cleanly-executed 13.9 high bar routine gave him the event title. In three weeks time Navy will look to continue its impressive season as they travel away to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on February 29.
Although Army West Point was unable to beat their long-time academy rivals Navy, they did record their highest team score of the season (394.1). This season-best team score was 5.5 points higher than their previous high score (at their home opener West Point Open). The Black Knights were able to record a victory on vault after scoring their season-best on that event (71.15). On parallel bars, they scored a 65.55 and were only 0.05 away from the event winners, Navy. Sophomore Mathew Davis’ third place finishes on floor (14.05) and rings (14.15), along with his first place finish on parallel bars (13.8) helped him record his highest all-around score of the season (80.6). The Black Knights travel to Nebraska next week to take on the Cornhuskers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Despite losing out to their academy rivals, the Air Force Falcons can be content with their progress over the last few weeks. In just three weeks, the Falcons have managed to improve by more than 18 points and record their highest team total of the season so far (387.5). Air Force impressed the most on pommel horse where they scored a notable 66.0, the highest team total on that event. Junior Ethan Esval was the event winner on pommel horse with a 13.75 and his junior teammate, Frankie Valentin, was just 0.05 behind him with a 13.7. For a second consecutive time, the Falcons will take on their Army West Point rivals on February 29.
