Week 9 #NCAAMGym Recap
Stanford @ Oklahoma
Stanford 409.3000 @ Oklahoma 409.3000
This contest was undoubtedly the most anticipated matchup of the season and it did not disappoint.
#1 Oklahoma and #4 Stanford battled it out until the very end. The competition picked up in the 5th rotation. Stanford had a few rough swings on high bar and OU pounced. The Sooners put up 68.90 points on parallel bars to take the lead by 4.4 points heading into the final rotation. There was definitely some nostalgia heading into the last event as the last time these two teams faced off, OU had a big lead heading into the final rotation and Stanford narrowly edged them for the 2019 NCAA title. This time, the margin was a bit larger. Unless OU faltered on high bar, Stanford would need to pull off something miraculous…and they did.
In typical OU fashion the Sooners hit their high bar routines to put a respectable 65.3 points on the board. That meant that Stanford needed to hit all 5 routines and hit them well in order to have a chance. Thom Glielmi’s Cardinal did just that, pulling off a 69.70-point parallel bars rotation highlighted by Blake Sun (14.45) and Brody Malone (14.50) to close out the meet. The final tally OU - 409.30, Stanford – 409.30.
Brody Malone has exploded back onto the NCAA scene and his performances on parallel bars (14.50) and high bar (14.40) are a big part of what kept Stanford in this competition at the end. For OU, Spencer Goodell (82.00) led the charge on his way to the all-around title for the day.
World-class gymnastics was on display, but this showing was definitely not the best performance that either team is capable of. OU was without the help of newly minted national team member, Vitaly Guimaraes, and had some early struggles on pommel horse (64.10). Stanford had a rough go on high bar (63.70) despite the heroic effort from Malone. When these two MPSF foes face off again at Conference Championships and NCAAs next month, they will likely have their lineups completely filled out and it will simply come down to which team hits more routines.
Iowa @ Ohio State
Iowa 395.7500 @ Ohio State 406.1000
The Buckeyes have had a quietly excellent season, finding themselves ranked fifth in our power rankings through eight weeks of competition. Week nine was more of the same as Ohio State posted a 406.10 to best a formidable Iowa team by over ten points.
A dominant showing on pommel horse set the tone for the rest of the meet. Andrew Brower took the event title with a 13.60 and was followed closely by teammates Justin Ah Chow (13.40) and Curtis Chang (13.25). Ohio State’s 66.30 to Iowa’s 61.85 on the event created a gap that was too wide for the latter to close heading into the last four events.
Jesse Tyndall led Ohio State on p bars with a 14.05 en route to a 68.50 event total. This team has been excellent here all year where they are now ranked third in the country. High bar was a different story, as it has been all season. The Buckeyes posted a 63.20 and are now ranked tenth in the country, their lowest ranking on any single event. They certainly have the talent to be much better here, raising this team’s ceiling higher than the impressive performance they put together this past weekend.
Iowa’s momentum has fizzled out as their 395.70 marked their second lowest score of the season and second straight loss. Struggles on pommel horse and high bar held them back against Ohio State, forced to count two scores in the 10-11 range in the five-up, five-count format on those two events.
Bennet Huang continues to be great as he took first in the all-around (81.10) and took second place on floor (14.25) and rings (13.45). Huang is now ranked fifth in the country in the all-around and should be an All-American lock for Iowa. Event titles came from Stewart Brown on floor (14.35) and Noah Scigliano on high bar (13.20). It was an off day for the Hawkeyes and questions now arise surrounding their all-arounder heavy strategy as Huang, Brown, and Evan Davis rack up more and more usage.
Air Force vs. Cal (Virtual)
Air Force 380.5500, California 389.7000 (Virtual)
Cal notched their highest score of the season (389.70) this past Saturday in a virtual duel against Air Force. A handful of gymnasts have stepped up in a big way in the absence of Darren Wong. The Golden Bears had low expectations heading into 2021 after the loss of Wong due to injury. They have exceeded all of these and continue to build a solid foundation with this young team.
Caleb Rickard and Noah Newfeld led the way for Cal. Rickard won both vault (14.25) and high bar (13.30) while Newfeld took p bars (13.55). Yu-Chen Lee has been quietly great for this team as well, competing on five events and averaging a 13.11. Will Levanakul took the final title on the day for the Golden Bears with his 13.85 performance on pommel horse.
Air Force scored a 380.55 in the loss to Cal, their second highest score of the season. Jake Sampier won floor on the day with a 13.60 and Allen Shadan took the rings title with a 13.45. Garret Braunton won the all-around title for the final win for the Falcons. Braunton’s 77.10 was his second highest score of the season as the highly touted recruit begins to pick up some steam.
Minnesota @ Michigan
Minnesota 384.4000 @ Michigan 412.8000
The Michigan Wolverines 412.80 wasn’t just enough to beat Minnesota’s 384.40, but it was enough to be the highest score of the week in the NCAA by several points.
The Wolverines had an impressive competition, just a few tenths shy of their season high. Cameron Bock and Paul Juda have been the talk of Michigan all season, but Jacob Moore’s 81.90 proves that he is another Wolverine all arounder who can be counted on. Michigan started off strong on the floor exercise with Jacob Moore’s 14.15 and Nick Guy’s 14.25. On pommel horse, they made a statement by posting three scores above the 14 mark. If they can capitalize on their remaining two horse routines, they will be a tough team to beat on that event. James Read and Cameron Bock led the team on rings with a pair of 14.30s.
Paul Juda was able to win the vault title with a 14.70 but they had to count two vault scores below a 14.00 which hurt their team event score. Bock scored a huge 14.55 on parallel bars which contributed to their 67.45 team score. Juda once again led the Wolverine’s on high bar with a 14.55. By no means did Michigan have a perfect meet, but they were still able to pull out one of the highest scores in the NCAA thus far. They have the opportunity to once again prove they are a top contender for the NCAA team title next Saturday in their competition against Penn State.
Minnesota had a disappointing performance scoring nearly 20 points lower than their previous week. The Gophers were without Shane Wiskus which definitely impacted them, but their sub-12.00 scores ultimately hurt them. Colton Dee was the event leader for the Gophers’ on floor with a 13.85. They struggled on pommel horse only scoring a 61.250 as a team.
Minnesota couldn’t get out of this slump for the remainder of the competition with the exception of a few routines. On vault, Ben Eyles scored a 14.55 but an 11.70 put them at a 67.40 as a team. Crew Bold and Donte McKinney both scored a 13.90 on highbar which gave Minnesota a strong finish to the competition. Minnesota’s next meet is March 22nd against Illinois. Luckily, they have next weekend off which will give them some time to make the necessary adjustments to be competitive against the Illini.
Around the Association
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Contributions from Bailey Perez, Max Soifer, and Ben Cooperman.