Week 2: #NCAAMGym Recap
What happened this past weekend in the world of NCAA men’s gymnastics? Look no further than the #NCAAMGym Weekly Recap.
Programming note: with the pandemic affecting scheduling and bringing on other unforeseen challenges, we will be adding an Around the Association section on given weeks to provide up to date news.
Air Force @ OU
Air Force 374.4000 @ Oklahoma 413.7500
Oklahoma continued its strong start to this very strange 2021 season this weekend, posting a massive 413.75 in their home opener versus Air Force (374.4).
The big takeaway from this showing by the Sooners is that this team doesn’t have a star athlete. Each and every guy in their lineup has a job to do, and they get it done. The best way to break this down is to take a look at their scoring ranges on each event.
After an up and down floor rotation, highlighted by a world class performance from Gage Dyer (14.75), the rest of OU’s events can only be characterized as consistent. The Sooner’s pommel horse range of counting scores was 13.1-13.75. They put on a stick clinic on rings with a scoring range of 13.55-13.9. Vault was a display of power and elite athleticism as OU put up a 73.2 team score in which the lowest score counted was a 14.5. The consistency continued on parallel bars with counting scores ranging on that event from 13.4-14.2. Finishing on high bar, the Sooner’s scores ranged from 13.15-13.65.
Morgan Seyler put up a 76.7 to come away with the All-Around title.
It’s abundantly clear that the leadership of Head Coach, Mark Williams, his coaching staff, and the captains of this year’s Sooner squad are taking the challenges of this year in stride. The men from OU want a national title and after this week’s performance it looks like it might be theirs to lose given the unknowns surrounding Stanford.
Air Force had a rough meet. This weekend, Frankie Valentine, who took second in the All-Around competition (73.7) and Allen Shadan (SR 13.3, PB 13.5, HB 12.5) led the Falcons. Freshman Garrett Braunton (71.0) struggled through an all-around campaign. Air Force shows a lot of promise in the difficulty of their gymnastics but might need some time to figure out how to put it all together.
The Sooners will take to the airwaves for the first time this season in a virtual dual against Army next Saturday at 5:00pm ET. The Falcon’s next showing will be the All-Academy Championships at Army on Saturday Feb 13th.
Ohio State @ Illinois
Ohio State 396.2500 @ Illinois 402.5500
Illinois and Ohio State had a tight team battle through four events, but Illinois was able to pull away with the victory after a rough performance by Ohio State on parallel bars and high bar. Illinois finished the competition with a 402.550, almost 18 points higher than their uncharacteristic week 1 score.
As a team, Illinois struggled to put together consistent line-ups and scores, with the exception of rings. Luckily, Hamish Carter stepped up for the Illini capturing the parallel bar event title, the all-around title, and a 2nd place finish on high bar. Carter was able to post above a 13.45 on every event, except for floor, proving he can be counted on for the Illini. They also won event titles from Ian Skirkey (PH), Danny Graham/Jordan Kovach (SR), and Evan Manivong (VT). These glimpses of greatness by the event winners helped the Illini’s team score, however, they are going to need this level of gymnastics to go deeper into their line-ups if they want to become more competitive on the national stage.
Ohio State had a solid performance on floor, pommel horse, rings and vault, helping them to a 396.250 finish. After vault, disaster struck for the Buckeyes on parallel bars and high bar where they were only able to score a 61.600 and 62.900 respectively. This quickly ended their hunt for the competition’s team title.
On an individual level, the Buckeyes had some success. Justin Ah Chow was able to lead the Buckeyes by winning the floor exercise title and posting a 13.650 on pommel horse. Later in the competition, Jesse Tyndall was able to win the highbar title with a score of 13.650. They also had a solid performance from Sean Neighbarger on vault (2nd - 14.40) and Trevor Cummings on pommel horse (2nd - 13.80).
Illinois will look to sharpen their consistency as they face off against Penn State this Sunday at 3pm ET while Ohio State is scheduled to challenge Navy this weekend in a virtual competition.
Around the Association
Michigan Pauses Athletic Activities for Two Weeks
After an impressive season opener from the Wolverines, we were expecting them to face Nebraska in a much anticipated Big Ten matchup this past Sunday. The meet was cancelled following a statement from the university calling for a 14 day pause on all athletic activities. The decision has also caused the meet between Ohio State and Michigan scheduled for this weekend to be moved to a virtual meet between the Buckeyes and Navy.
This development is unfortunate for a team that came out of the gate strong and will miss out on two early Big Ten tests and more importantly, be out of the gym for two weeks. These challenges were expected coming into the season and each team is dealing with their own circumstances. More news on Michigan to come following the 14 day pause.
Looking for More Coverage?
Two former Penn State gymnasts, Isaac Hammett and Cannon Johnson, have launched the Gymnastics Network. The pair plan to release a pregame and postgame show each week to analyze what went on across the country. Subscribe to their YouTube channel here and be sure to follow them on instagram: @thegymnasticsnetwork
Contributions from Bailey Perez, Max Soifer, and Ben Cooperman.