Week 10 #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.
Michigan/Penn State @ Illinois
Illinois pulled off a dramatic upset over Michigan at home last Saturday, throwing into doubt the Wolverines’ dominance in the Big Ten and upgrading their own status as a top conference contender.
The Illini tallied a 406.9 for a less than two-point win over Michigan. They were able to weather mistakes on pommel horse and high bar, and the victory, although aided by Michigan’s errors, showed the rest of the NCAA that the recent injury to Hamish Carter wouldn’t sideline the Illini. They’re as in the national picture as they’ve ever been.
Illinois had the top team score on rings and, despite those mistakes (they counted a 10.5), pommel horse. They didn’t hit any season-highs but earned individual titles on pommel horse and rings. Michael Paradise (14.95) and Ian Skirkey (14.7) were first and second on horse, and Danny Graham added another ring title to his collection with a 14.55.
The Wolverines’ 405.1 delivered them their first loss of the season, although it wasn’t a catastrophic meet by any means. Despite mistakes on horse and rings, Michigan was still in position to win toward the end of the meet. However, their chances were squandered by an usually sloppy high bar rotation. Their 64.65 on the event was a season-low by over a point. It’s not a stretch to say the meet was lost by the high bar lineup.
There were highlights for the Wolverines nonetheless. Paul Juda was strong once again, hitting 15.0 on floor for a title. He also won vault with a 14.8 and tied for second on p-bars with a 14.0. Nick Guy was right behind him on vault with a 14.75, and Michigan, gunning for a last-minute comeback, swept the podium on p-bars with solid performances by Cameron Bock (14.1), Jacob Moore (14.0) and Juda.
Penn State never really challenged Michigan or Illinois but had a decent day. Their 402.2 was a slight decline from their score the week prior, but it was close to the Nittany Lions’ average this year.
They probably would have had a shot at a win, however, if it hadn’t been for their 64.35 on horse, a season-low. Their star swinger Stephen Nedoroscik ran into issues and they had to count three 12s. Penn State is actually ranked No. 1 in the country on pommel horse, so their meager score in this matchup proved far too costly. If they had hit their three-score average of 68.4, they would have been well in contention for the title.
The Nittany Lions had three gymnasts podium: Issac Hammet on rings (14.05 — 3rd), Brennan Pantazis on vault (14.7 — 3rd) and Sam Zakutney on high bar (13.8 — 2nd, tie).
Penn State faces William & Mary this Saturday. Illinois takes on Arizona State in Puerto Rico on Saturday, and Michigan travels to Iowa City on Sunday.
Navy @ Cal
Navy came roaring back from a disappointing showing against Ohio State to defeat Cal in Berkeley last Saturday with a big season-high team score.
The Midshipmen put up a 410.5 for a more than seven-point victory over Cal. Navy was elevated by an almost two-point season-high high bar score and a generally consistent performance. They also hit a season-high on floor (70.15).
That Navy was able to put up such a high number on the road was further evidence of their potential on the national stage. It should, however, be taken in conjunction with their 397.2 against Ohio State. That meet threw some doubt on the Midshipmen’s ability to contend with strong opposition. Further, Cal hit a season-high as well; it’s not impossible some of the judging was lenient.
Speculation aside, it was unequivocally a good day to be a Navy fan. They had the top team score on every event except p-bars and individual titles on four. Connor Van Loo won floor (14.75), Josh Williams tied for gold on rings (13.85), Travis Keller took the vault crown (14.45), Cash Buske won high bar (14.4) and David Toussaint tied for the lead on horse (13.7). Navy also had four runners-up: Danny Clark on horse, Van Loo on vault, Ryan McVay on p-bars, and Max Gerber on high bar.
Cal, as mentioned, hit a season-high team score of 403.1. They also hit season-highs on rings (67.25) and, by an almost four-point margin, on high bar (67.7).
The Bears were roughly two points behind Navy on floor, horse and high bar, and they won p-bars by only a half-point. Although they were able to avoid most costly mistakes (there were two counting 11s on horse), the Bears didn’t have an event that separated themselves from Navy.
Still, their team score was a season high by more than two points. Darren Wong led the charge for the Bears, picking up wins on horse (13.7), rings (13.85) and p-bars (14.05). Anton Verona took third on rings with a 13.75, and Kyle Shuttle’s 14.25 on vault was also good for third.
The Bears take on Stanford in Palo Alto Saturday. Navy is off.
Iowa/NIU @ Ohio State
Ohio State has been remarkably consistent this year, and they just posted their fifth-straight score of 405+ to take down Iowa. Pommel horse and rings have been particularly strong for them, as they are now ranked third and fifth, respectively. After this weekend’s 407.65, the Buckeyes are now ranked No. 4 in the country, a place not many thought they would be at this point in the season.
What made this victory even more impressive than their previous performances, was their reliance on some quieter names to get the job done. Donovan Hewitt won both rings (13.8) and vault (14.45). Dexter Roettker came in second behind Hewitt on vault, providing some much needed help on an event they have struggled on so far this year comparatively. Andrew Brower, who has struggled with injuries throughout his career, won the parallel bars title (13.95).
The typical Buckeye stables still made some noise. Jesse Tyndall won high bar with a 14.25 to go along with tying for first on floor (14.2). Justin Ah Chow competed four events and took second on high bar (14.1). Meanwhile, on pommel horse, Trevor Cummings came out on top by over half-of-a-point with a 14.5.
Ohio State is looking like one of the top teams in the tightly contested Big Ten conference.
Iowa had yet another good meet but it was not enough to take down this talented Ohio State roster. JD Reive and company should still walk away happy as their 402.8 gave them their fifth-straight score over the 400-mark. Their regular season is somewhat reminiscent of a year ago when they took a share of the Big Ten regular season title. They are on the outside looking in, but it would be foolish at this point to continue to doubt the Hawkeyes.
Iowa got two excellent all-around performances out of their workhorses, Bennet Huang and Evan Davis. Huang was able to just barely edge out Davis as they took first and second (81.20, 81.15). Kulani Taylor took the lone event title for his team with a solid floor performance that went 14.2. Mitch Mandozzi took third on high bar in a very crowded field (13.8).
Northern Illinois rounded out the field with a season high 325.85. David Dortmund had a great day, taking third in the all around (77.4) to go along with a top-ten finish on every event.
William & Mary @ Army
Coming into this weekend, Army had yet to hit the 400-mark all year. That changed very quickly on Saturday when they put up a 408.65. The very high score was in part due to an impressive performance by the Black Knights, but they also received some help from the judging panel. Regardless, Army keeps on rolling at home where they will compete for a third-straight time next weekend.
Mathew Davis has been the catalyst for this team since the departure of Cole Casanova. The sophomore had a strong performance against William & Mary, taking two event titles (FX - 14.3, SR - 14.3) to go along with two second place finishes (PB - 13.7, HB - 14.1). Davis was joined by Matthew Martin who took the pommel horse title (14.65).
Following their latest victory, Army now ranks No. 11 or 12 on every event in the country and No. 12 overall. This is a spot they are going to want to keep, as it would grant them a trip to NCAAs as a team. William & Mary are right behind them, and will still be vying for that position even after this week’s loss.
The Tribe posted a season high 397.85 after scoring a 397.55 just two weeks earlier. Unfortunately, it was not enough to take down Army but provides an important score for their qualifying average. This meet also solidified Andrew Lyubovsky as the most important piece of this William & Mary team.
After a string of solid all-around performances, Lyubovsky competed just four events but made them count. He was able to secure event titles on parallel bars (13.95) as well as high bar (14.6). As mentioned previously, scores were high at this meet and the routine was well off that number. That being said, it was a great routine that deserves recognition. Lyubovsky has struggled to hit that set this year but if he can put up more routines like that, he could be in the conversation for ECAC high bar champion.
Colin Lillie continues to shine on floor and vault. He took second on the former (13.95) and first on the latter (14.4). He joins Lyubovsky as a member of the Tribe with ECAC champion potential.
Rocky mountain/stanford @ air force
The Stanford domination tour continued this past weekend with their ace, Brody Malone, resting on the bench. Even with him out, they were able to post a 413.1; yet another week with the No. 1 score in the country. With the lack of pressure this team is facing from the rest of the NCAA, we will likely not see Stanford with fully stacked lineups again until Championship season rolls around.
Top-to-bottom, this roster is filled with elite talent. Ian Gunther has emerged alongside the top stars on this team as someone who can keep pace with the best. He secured event titles on pommel horse (13.8), rings (14.4) and parallel bars (14.2). Blake Wilson had a day as well, tallying a first place finish on floor (14.5) and tacked on another on high bar (14.2). David Jessen had one of his best performances of the year after being named a Nissen Emery finalist, taking second place on pommel horse (13.7) and high bar (14.05).
Brandon Briones and Riley Loos sat out the all-around this weekend but still contributed in a big way. Briones averaged a 13.4 across his four events even with a shaky pommel horse to go along with a 13.75 for Loos across his four. Stanford’s trip to Colorado was just another example of how untouchable this team may be. They have one more week of regular season competition before we see what they do come Championship season.
Air Force was well off of Stanford’s mark, but strung together a second-straight performance of 385+. This latest score keeps them solidly in fifteenth place by four-score average but still well behind Arizona State for that No. 14 spot.
This weekend was highlighted by a strong performance from Ethan Esval who took third on rings (13.9) and sixth on pommel horse (13.1). Zack Polen competed a team-high five events and posted a 14.2 on vault to take sixth.
Rocky Mountain finished this meet in third. Zak Johnsen led them with a 70.55 in the all-around, good enough for the title.
William & Mary @ Springfield
William & Mary earned a win over Springfield last Sunday after falling to Army just two days before.
The victory notwithstanding, the Tribe’s team score Sunday was more than 10 points less than what they put up Friday and blunted some of the positive progress made during the previous two meets. That said, double-headers are damn difficult.
William & Mary earned individual titles on four events. Tomas Palma won floor with a 13.9, Christian Gulotta took down horse with a 13.0, Christian Marsh won rings with a 13.5 and Aidan Cuy was first on high bar with a 13.2. Marsh was also second on horse with a 12.6, and Kevin Portofee was runner-up on high bar with a 12.9.
The Tribe host Penn State on Saturday.
Springfield’s 377.7 was a disappointing result following their season-high 387.85 at W&M just a couple weeks before. The biggest declines came on rings and p-bars; Springfield lost almost eight points from the previous meet on those two alone.
It wasn’t all gloom, though. They were strong on vault, coming close to a season-high with their 69.7, and they beat William & Mary on high bar. They swept the podium on vault, led by Dominic Ramalho’s 14.4 and Stephen Lewis’s 14.3; Lewis also won p-bars (13.0) and all-around (77.55).
Springfield faces Temple and Army at West Point this Saturday.
