Week 1 Recap
January 11, 2022
Army @ Penn State
The 2022 season kicked off this past Friday night with Penn State getting a scrappy win over Army. The first thing that stuck out to spectators was the rule changes introduced that will continue as the norm throughout this year. First, the head-to-head dual meet format, with teams alternating athletes on the same event. Second, the exclusive use of the five-up, five-count format right from the beginning of the season.
The Nittany Lions came away with the win, but it was certainly not the meet they were hoping for. Their 369.05 was over ten points lower than their worst team score just a season ago. If we learned anything from last year, however, it is not fair to judge a team based on a single performance. The five-up, five-count straight out of the gate proved unforgiving for Penn State as they were forced to count five scores under the 11-mark. They also only competed eleven of the allotted fifteen roster spots, missing the likes of last year’s team MVP, Michael Jaroh, and promising freshman, Josh Karnes. This will be a much different looking team at full strength.
Sophomore, Michael Artlip, made his all-around debut and took the title with a 73.90 to go along with a first place finish on vault (14.20). It wasn’t a perfect performance, but Artlip’s talent was on display and he will surely be a pivotal member of this team this season as Head Coach Randy Jepson noted. Matt Cormier and Ethan Dick were also key contributors. Cormier took the floor title with a 13.60 while Dick took first on high bar with a 12.70. Penn State’s sophomore class will dictate the ceiling of this group and if they can come into form, this will be a very good team.
Army opened up their season with a 358.20, exactly three points higher than their debut in 2021. Similar to their opponent, the Black Knights also felt the harsh reality of the five-up, five-count format. Pommel horse took a toll on their team score, counting four of five scores below the 11-mark en route to a 52.20. As the team adjusts to the new format and starts hitting sets, expect their team score to rise quite a bit.
Mathew Davis, the staple of this team, had a solid start to the year. The senior posted a second place 73.45 in the all-around and won the rings title with a 13.70. Pommel horse was led by Zachary Mitchell, who took second with a 12.30. Patrick Armstrong also had a strong day, including a second place finish on p bars (12.25).
Northern Illinois @ Michigan
The number two ranked Wolverines had a slow start to their season with a 385.95 win over NIU. They were missing key contributions from Cameron Bock, Paul Juda, and Jacob Moore, however, they hit 29/33 routines bringing to light the potential depth of their lineup.
David Willett stepped up to the plate to capture the all-around title with a 75.00, only a few tenths ahead of his teammate, Rithik Puri (74.70). Outside of the all-around, the Wolverines were able to sweep all of the event titles, led by Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, Nick Guy (FX, T-VT), and Crew Bold (PB and HB). Freshman Lais Najjar was able to capture his first event title of his collegiate career on the pommel horse and his teammate, David Wolma, won vault (14.45) and garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. As the Wolverines head into the renowned Windy City Invite next weekend, they will look to put together some bigger scores in a stiffer field of competition.
NIU rounded out the competition with a 252.10. Unfortunately, the Huskies were short handed and only able to post four scores per event. This number should significantly improve moving forward if they are able to compete with a full roster. Jerid Enyard put together the team’s highlight routine with a fourth place finish on pommel horse. NIU won’t have to wait long to compete again as they head to the Windy City Invite next weekend in their home state of Illinois.
Washington Open
The Washington Open turned out to be an exhibition for the Huskies as their originally slated competition, Boise, pulled out of the meet. It was a rough start to the season for Washington, but there were many encouraging outcomes. A team score of 361.30 set the bar low this season as Head Coach Jeff Crockett prepares his team to challenge for the top spot in the GymACT.
Some highlights from the night were the Husky rings lineup as well as some strong performances out of the freshmen class. Although there is room for improvement, the 62.90 team score on rings is a good start. Strong routines from Jameel Ali (12.90) and Conner Pattison (13.10) led the Washington rings squad and will be looked to throughout the year to provide the same leadership.
Coach Crockett should also be happy with performances from the freshmen class. Both Xander Agate and Bradley Stroud showed their value to this Washington team by leading the charge on parallel bars and high bar. Agate (13.20) took home the parallel bars crown with Stroud (13.10) right on his heels. They flipped spots on high bar where Stroud (12.10) out-did Agate (11.80) to take home the title.
Notably missing from this competition was Junior, Adam Kerwin, who will surely be back later in the season.
Contributions from Bailey Perez, Max Soifer, and Ben Cooperman.