Week 5 #NCAAMGym Recap
All-Academy Championships
Air Force 379.1000, Navy 395.2000 @ Army 377.8500 (All-Academy Championships)
The annual All-Academy Championships took place in West Point this past Saturday with the Naval Academy dominating the competition, indicating they are closer in ability to the Big Ten than they are to the rest of the field. Their 395.20 was a full thirteen points higher than their opening performance and much closer to 2020 levels, a shortened season where they only dropped below the 400 mark twice.
The Midshipmen took four of the six event titles on the day. David Toussaint won floor (14.20) to go along with a third place finish on pommel horse (13.10). Ryan McVay took the pommel horse title (13.40), Travis Keller took vault (14.95), and Giovanni Gambetese won high bar (13.85). Kip Simons has been known to disperse the workload quite evenly, a trend that looks to be continuing into 2021. Only the aforementioned McVay and freshman, Syam Baradagunta, competed four events. Every other competitor stuck to three routines or less, a strategy that will likely keep this team fresh as we get deeper into the season.
Air Force was able to keep Army at bay, taking second place by just over a point. Their 379.10 was an improvement over their previous performance but still shy of their season high 384.10 they posted on January 16th. Frankie Valentin was the highlight for the Falcons, taking second place in the all-around (75.65) to go with a second place finish on rings (13.10).
Rounding out the competition was Army with a season high 377.85. Mathew Davis was once again the highlight for the Black Knights. The junior took first in the all around (77.20) to go with event titles on both rings (13.40) and p bars (13.55). Army is heading in the right direction but will need to get more help behind Davis to inch closer to the 380 mark.
Stanford vs. William & Mary (Virtual)
Stanford 306.6500, William & Mary 379.9500 (Virtual)
William & Mary has been through a rollercoaster of events the past few months and it started with news of their program being cut in September. Fortunately with efforts from the team and alumni, the Tribe’s program was reinstated. Most recently, the Tribe shook the nation by scoring a 379.950, capturing the unprecedented victory over the Stanford Cardinal (306.650).
Many people are probably wondering why Stanford had such an unusual start to the season. Here is a breakdown of some possible factors:
Stanford still hasn’t been able to train as a full team since last March. They spent the entire summer, preseason, and first month of 2021 training in scattered locations all across the country because the University and it’s county’s COVID protocols are the most stringent in the country. Thankfully, Virtius is allowing Stanford to have a season.
Currently, only ten guys are back on campus. Some of the Cardinal’s top all arounders including, 2019 NCAA Champion Brody Malone, Brandon Briones, Ian Gunther, and freshman Colt Walker will not be back on campus until after Winter Cup.
The ten Cardinal who are back on campus had less than ideal training conditions before this competition. For starters, they had a 10-day quarantine upon their return to campus. Proceeding this quarantine, many of them had less than a week of training before the competition. Because of this, the Cardinal performed watered down routines on nearly every event.
They only competed 24 routines throughout the whole competition, 23 of which counted towards their team score. After an unfortunate injury from one of Stanford’s all arounders, they no longer had enough routines to fill their line-ups.
Through the Cardinal’s challenges and adversity, they still proved that they will be a team to compete with once they are back in the full swing of things. Blake Wilson put the Cardinal on track with a clean performance on floor where he took the event title. Later in the competition, Stanford demonstrated their potential on vault with the three 15.20 vaults they competed. Zach Martin and Brandon Nguyen put up respectable scores of 14.50 and 14.60. Although these scores are extremely competitive on the national stage, they couldn’t rival Curran Philips stuck yurchenko 2 ½ which landed him a 14.95. Blake Sun was able to feed off of the energy from vault and perform a beautiful parallel bar routine which scored a 14.65. Although the Cardinal didn’t start off the season the way most people expected, they have plenty to look forward to leading up to the NCAA championships where they will be able to show off their full field of talent.
William and Mary had an impressive performance for their season debut. The two things the Tribe clearly worked on during the off season were their dismounts and vaults. They had a significant increase in D valued dismounts and a full line-up of 14.8 start value vaults. These two factors helped the Tribe start off the year two points higher than their 2020 season opener. Cutter Fugett was able to set the tone for the Tribe by posting a 13.35 on floor, the second highest floor score of the competition. On rings, Christian Marsh was able to score a 12.90, winning the event title for the Tribe. On p bars, the event anchor Andrew Lyubovsky was able to score a 13.30 making him the event runner up. High bar was closed out by successful performances from Sam Lee (13.05) and Andrew Lyubovsky (13.20). Once the Tribe begins refining their numerous upgraded sets, they will see a significant jump in their team score.
Minnesota @ Nebraska
Minnesota 397.8000 @ Nebraska 407.7000
Nebraska started strong on floor (71.40) and never looked back en route to a commanding victory over Big Ten foe, Minnesota 407.70 to 397.80. Freshman, Taylor Christopulos, showed up in a big way for Coach Chuck Chmelka in his second outing as a Cornhusker. Christopulos started on floor with a massive 14.30, led the team on rings (13.40), and contributed a solid high bar performance (13.35) for 4th place on the event. He also took the vault title and tied Curran Phillips for the highest score in the country on the event this year (14.95).
Christopulos wasn’t alone in producing for his team; Jake Bonnay was back with a vengeance. Bonnay took the floor title (14.50) and tied with Christopulos on high bar (13.35). Charlie Giles and Sam Phillips also put up some big numbers for Nebraska. Giles put up a 13.90 on floor, a 13.30 on pommel horse, and a huge 14.75 on vault. Phillips showed flair in his presentation on floor for a 14.40 and added a clean high bar performance 13.30. Nebraska is looking very good this year and is still missing some scoring potential from the likes of Griffin Kehler, Jonathan Scripnick, and Mitch Tyndall. This performance from Nebraska should have Michigan Head Coach Kurt Golder shaking in his boots because the Wolverines do not have the coveted Big Ten title as tightly wrapped up as their early season performance might have indicated.
Although Nebraska was too much for Minnesota to overcome, the Golden Gophers showed nearly an 11-point improvement over their earlier outings and they are still without Shane Wiskus. Much of the improvement for Minnesota came on the pommel horse (65.70) where a 5.3-point improvement helped to keep them competitive. Mike Moran continued showing his value to the Gopher lineup as he posted an 80.55 to win another all-around title. Vault (71.30) and parallel bars (66.00) were highlights for Minnesota. Parallel bars was the lone event in which Minnesota was able to best Nebraska. This 11-point improvement for the Gophers thrusts them back into the conversation and into a place of competitiveness this season, especially as they await the return of Shane Wiskus.
Illinois @ Iowa
Illinois 400.5000 @ Iowa 402.0000
Iowa shocked Illinois this past weekend with a statement victory by a margin of just one and half points. The Hawkeyes were carried by four all-arounders, who took on the brunt of the workload. The familiar pair of Evan Davis (81.70) and Bennet Huang (80.75) took one and two in the all around, continuing to quietly make their case as the best duo in the country in this young season. Davis and Huang were joined by Carter Tope (77.70) and Stewart Brown (77.40) who placed fourth and fifth respectively. The four of them were able to propel Iowa to a season high 402.00, almost ten points higher than their season debut.
This is now the third straight year this team has proved themselves a formidable force in the strong Big Ten Conference. Great regular season performances have unfortunately unravelled by the time championship season has rolled around. With Coach Reive relying heavily on four athletes, there is always the chance they could run out of steam by the Big Ten Tournament. If Huang, Davis, and the rest of the all-arounders can stay in peak form, there is no reason Iowa cannot carry this momentum past the regular season.
Illinois came into this season with high expectations. With the return of Clay Stephens and Michael Fletcher, they landed at the number five spot in our season preview. With losses to Penn State and now Iowa this past weekend, the Illini are slipping away as one of the preeminent teams in the Big Ten. Their win over Ohio State proves they are capable, but they will have to step up in the coming weeks if they want to gain that status back.
Despite the loss to Iowa, the Illini had some highlight performances. Connor McCool won floor with a 14.25 and Ian Skirkey took a share of the pommel horse title with a 13.70. Danny Graham secured yet another rings title (14.10) and is the early favorite to take the NCAA title as well. A 400.50 without Clay Stephens is still a strong score but Illinois will have to make some adjustments before taking on Michigan and Nebraska this weekend in a pivotal tri-meet.
Cal vs. Stanford (Virtual)
California 380.2000 @ Stanford 394.3500 (Virtual)
After a messy debut for Stanford earlier in the week, the Cardinal bounced back strong in their second competition of week five. The return of Riley Loos proved pivotal as the sophomore posted an 80.90 to start his season. The addition of Loos was enough to fill out the Cardinal lineups en route to a respectable 394.35.
While it was known that they would be without Loos for one meet, Brody Malone, Brandon Briones, Ian Gunther, and Colt Walker until after Winter Cup, it was seemingly impossible to not find Stanford’s debut alarming. Their inability to compete full lineups despite the missing talent raised red flags for the reigning NCAA champions from a depth and preparation perspective. This win over Cal quickly put all of that talk to rest and this team will return to dominance by the time March rolls around.
Cal has been remarkably solid this season despite the loss of Darren Wong. Their 380.20, while their lowest mark yet, was their third above 380 this season. It was an off day for Kyle Abe who is capable of adding quite a few points to their team total. Noah Newfeld was the highlight of the meet for the Bears, taking third in the all around with a 76.05.
Arizona State vs. Temple (Virtual)
Arizona State 380.5000, Temple 341.9000 (Virtual)
Arizona State bested Temple in a virtual dual 380.50 to 341.90. The competition was streamed live on the GymACT youtube page, which made for easy viewing. The Sun Devils got off to a rough start on floor but picked it up on pommel horse where Dylan Hauptmeier (13.20) came away with the title, outscoring his teammate Clayton Cunningham (13.10) by one tenth. Other standout performances for ASU came from Vinnie Colosimo on vault (14.30), Kiwan Watts on vault (14.50) and parallel bars (13.10), and Anthony Mills on high bar (13.10). Anthony Mills took the all-around title with a 76.10. The Sun Devils vault lineup has been impressive this year and looks to have the ability to challenge the top vault teams in the country.
The Temple Owls took to the mats for the first time this season and put up a solid performance, but as coach Jesse Kitzen-Ableson said, “we have homework to do”. Temple was led by their veteran captains, Nicolino Dibattista (12.10) four event average and Garrett McDaniel (66.80) for second in the all-around competition.
Penn State @ Ohio State
Penn State 403.9000 @ Ohio State 405.5000
It was another tight B1G battle between Ohio State and Penn State this past weekend. After a close first four events, the Buckeyes were able to pull off a strong parallel bar performance which helped lead them to their 405.50 to 403.90 victory over the Nittany Lions.
The Buckeyes started on the floor exercise and were led by Jesse Tyndall. He was able to post a 14.30, the second highest floor score in the meet. The team travelled to pommel horse and were able to capitalize with 13.95 performances from Justin Ah Chow and Rihards Trams. The Buckeyes had a strong ring performance scoring a 67.35 as a team, one of the top ring scores in the NCAA thus far. On vault, Donovan Hewitt secured the event title for the Buckeyes with a 14.55. His teammate, Jesse Tyndall, followed his way on parallel bars winning the event title with a 14.30. On parallel bars they were able to post a 68.45 as a team compared to Penn State’s 65.70. This ultimately helped Ohio State secure the competition. The Buckeyes have the week off and will be looking to use it to further push their consistency.
Penn State had an impressive competition through the first four events. On the floor exercise, they were able to count five scores at the 13.85 mark or better. Matt Cormier led the team on floor with his 14.600. On pommel horse, Nick Mock was able to execute a beautiful pommel horse routine that scored a 14.80 and earned him Co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Week. It will be interesting to see if Mock can pull this performance off on a weekly basis and follow in the Penn State alum, Stephen Nedoroscik’s footsteps. On rings, Parker Clayton scored a 14.15, winning the event title. However, as a team, the Nittany Lions weren’t able to execute any other ring routines above a 13.05. On vault, they once again struggled to put up consistent high scores with the exception of Matt Cormier’s 14.55. On parallel bars, Andres Perez Gines had a clean performance which scored a 14.25 and Ethan Dick followed him with a 13.65. Unfortunately, the remainder of Penn State’s scores failed to break the 13 mark. On highbar, they swept the podium, led by Alex Frack’s 13.40. He was followed by Brennan Pantazis (13.20) and Andres Perez Gines (13.15). If the Nittany Lions begin to execute their 4th and 5th routines, we might be able to see them challenge Michigan for a run at the B1G title.
Around the Association
The First All-Female Judges Panel
The Stanford and William & Mary match up this past Wednesday marked the first time an NCAA Men’s Gymnastics competition was judged by an all-female panel. Amanda Stroud, Kathi-Sue Rupp, Danae Rupp, and Lynn Boman made up the panel and were joined by Karen Muschinske as the on-site technical director. Kathi-Sue Rupp judged the meet virtually from Belgium, a feat made possible by Virtius.
Catch Up on the Action
The Gymnastics Network has been working with Virtius to provide commentary for some of this year’s virtual competitions. Revisit this past week’s streams below:
Stanford versus W&M: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG09XWen9i4&t=5191s
Stanford versus Cal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcYHSZUH498
GymACT has also made competitions available for viewing:
ASU versus Temple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phK13uw3k8o
Contributions from Bailey Perez, Max Soifer, and Ben Cooperman.