Michigan and Illinois, each 2-1 in the Big Ten this year, are set to compete on Saturday for the regular season conference title in a dual meet in Ann Arbor.
On Friday, Nebraska will host Ohio State and Greenville and look to rebound from last week’s loss to Illinois with a win over a conference opponent.
Springfield will travel to Army for a Saturday dual meet, and Cal will take on Oklahoma in Berkeley. On Sunday, William & Mary is scheduled to host Penn State.
Here’s a preview of Week 11 in NCAA men’s gymnastics.
Michigan, Illinois vie for Big Ten title
The Big Ten regular season champion will be decided on Saturday after six rotations in Ann Arbor.
Michigan enters the competition ranked higher nationally, but Illinois is coming off a huge win over rival Nebraska last week that saw the team post a season high. Both teams have performed well under pressure this year, with each challenging OU at different points this season, and both have lineups featuring reliable hitters and standout event specialists.
The Wolverines have a greater potential team score, meaning a high hit percentage would probably carry Michigan to victory, but the team has also underperformed a couple times this season at critical moments, including during a dual meet against Penn State in Week 6. Michigan boasts strong young talent in Landen Blixt, who has the potential to lift the team to victory alongside seasoned upperclassmen Adam Wooten, Evgeny Siminiuc, Crew Bold, Javier Alfonso, and others. Of note: freshman star Fred Richard is on an international assignment for the United States, which could mark an opening for the Illini since Richard is a strong all-arounder for the Wolverines.
Routines to watch from Michigan include:
- Alfonso’s rings. Alfonso put up the country’s best rings routine of the year in Week 9 with a score of 15.0, performing an inverted cross, straight planches, a back uprise Maltese, and sticking his full-twisting double layout dismount.
- Siminiuc’s parallel bars. Siminiuc has scored above 14 on parallel bars five times this season and as high as 14.95 with a clean routine that includes a peach half, Bhavsar, straddle front one-and-a-quarter, and double pike dismount.
Illinois’ competitive ability was evident last week during its 16-point victory over Nebraska. The team hit all of its routines and continued charging after gaining the lead early in the competition. Similar to Michigan, the Illini have come within a point of OU this year but have also fallen to Ohio State, meaning the team has proven both fallible and unfazed under pressure. The Illini will depend on Michael Fletcher, Connor McCool, Amari Sewell, David Pochinka, Josh Cook, and others in chasing victory this Saturday.
Routines to watch from the Illini include:
- Pochinka’s parallel bars. The Illinois fifth-year has won titles on the event at the team’s last two meets, posting a 14.6 against Stanford and Cal with a well-paced routine and clean double front dismount.
- McCool’s floor and vault. The Illini captain understands how to stick landings better than possibly anyone in the NCAA. His floor routine and vault last week offered further evidence of that ability.
- Ian Skirkey’s horse. The pommel specialist was back atop of the podium last week after performing another clean hit of his 6.5-difficulty set.
Nebraska welcomes Ohio State, Greenville
The Huskers will look to avenge a loss to Illinois last week by capturing a victory over Big Ten rival Ohio State on Friday. The Buckeyes, for their part, will also be looking for redemption after falling to Penn State at home last weekend. Greenville last competed in Week 9, when the team upset Springfield and posted its best total of the year.
Nebraska counted the bulk of its errors on horse and parallel bars, so improvements there this weekend will be crucial as the team prepares for the Big Ten Championships later this month. The Huskers’ Taylor Christopulos has been having an outstanding season: Another strong performance from him and teammates Donte McKinney, Zachary Tiderman, Cooper Giles, and others will help Nebraska contend for a win on Friday.
Routines to watch from the Huskers include:
- Christopulos’ floor. The junior stuck all of his passes last weekend to take the title on floor with a season-best 14.65. His routine features two double-doubles and explosive tumbling throughout.
- McKinney’s and Tiderman’s high bar. The gymnasts have traded the No. 1 and No. 2 spots at meets throughout the year, with each performing big release elements and usually sticking their dismounts. McKinney has scored as high as a 14.25, while Tiderman set a season-best last week of 14.35 to claim the win.
- Giles’ horse. Giles suffered errors last weekend that he’s more than capable of avoiding this week. The senior has scored as high as 14.5 this year.
The Buckeyes had an unusual error on vault last week that weighed down the team on the last event. Ohio State also counted misses in some typically higher scoring routines on parallel bars and high bar. To capture a win over the talented Nebraska team in Lincoln, the Buckeyes will need to capitalize on its advantage over the Huskers on parallel bars and clean up the falls it counted last weekend.
Routines to watch from Ohio State include:
- Caden Spencer’s high bar and floor. The freshman has had a remarkable season on high bar but stumbled last week on the event and on floor. Expect Spencer to rebound in a big way this Friday.
- Parker Thackston’s horse. Thackston put up his best horse routine of the year last week to take the title against OU and Penn State. His routine includes two E flops, a Roth, travels, and a handstand dismount, all of which accentuate an excellent swing.
- Kameron Nelson’s floor. Nelson underperformed on the event last week, but the Winter Cup floor champ should be back in peak form this week. We may even see him compete the triple back opening pass that turned heads at Winter Cup, considering Nebraska’s floor is famously springy.
Greenville set a more than 10-point season high as it defeated Springfield in a tri-meet with Simpson in Week 9. The team had its best showings of the year on floor, pommel horse, and high bar and won individual titles on four events. Greenville will be hard pressed to defeat Ohio State and Nebraska this weekend, but the team has the potential to continue building momentum ahead of next weekend’s USAG Nationals.
Routines to watch from Greenville include:
- Michael Avery’s vault. Avery stuck his Yurchenko double at the team’s last meet to earn the title with a season-high 14.5.
- Ricky Mays’ horse. Mays turned in a big season-best against Springfield and Simpson to win the event with a 12.95, performing a clean Magyar and Sivado and swing handstand dismount.
- Zach Connelly’s floor. Connelly also posted a top score of the year in Week 9, winning floor with a 13.5 and a routine that included a full-in, triple full, and a stuck back 2.5 dismount.
Sooners take on Bears in Berkeley
Oklahoma is coming off a scrappy win over Penn State and Ohio State last weekend. The Sooners will have their focus set on cleaning up the errors they suffered on pommel horse and high bar last meet and building confidence during their last regular season competition of the year.
Routines to watch from OU include:
- Emre Dodanli’s floor. Dodanli won floor last weekend with a season-best 14.65, sticking his triple full dismount after mounting with a full-twisting double layout.
- Spencer Goodell’s parallel bars. The OU veteran has been having an outstanding season from the anchor spot on the apparatus, scoring a 14.45 last week after performing steady above-bar work, a peach half, and nearly sticking his double pike dismount.
- Ignacio Yockers’ horse. Yockers had a rare struggle on his dismount last week that nonetheless didn’t stop him from placing second. The Sooner freshman will be aiming to finish his routine cleanly this weekend and cap what’s been one of the best freshman horse campaigns in recent memory.
Cal had its best meet of the year last weekend by a close to five-point margin to defeat Army and William & Mary. Noah Newfeld claimed three individual titles during the meet, and Cal cracked the 390 mark (easily, with its 399.35) for the first time since Week 4. The Bears will look to repeat the strong performances they recorded on floor and pommel horse, where the team notched season-highs and won individual titles. Routines to watch from Cal include:
- Aidan Li’s horse. Li scored a 14.05 for his second-best total of the year and the event title last weekend, performing an E flop, D flop, Wu, triple Russian, travels, and handstand dismount.
- Newfeld’s floor and parallel bars. Newfeld won both events, in addition to rings, last weekend with season-highs on both. On floor, the junior mounted with a stuck front double pike before landing a clean back 2.5 dismount. On parallel bars, he performed a whip-it, healy, peach half, peach handstand, and stuck his double front to score 14.3.
- Jasper Smith-Gordon’s vault. Smith-Gordon, who set a school record on vault earlier this year, won the event last weekend with a gorgeous Kas 1.5.
Springfield travels to West Point for dual meet with Black Knights
Army fell to Cal and defeated William & Mary last week while tying its second-best team score of the season. The Black Knights had season-best performances on floor and vault at the meet and an event winner in Zachary Perez, who was best on high bar with a score of 13.2. Army’s horse score last week was about 4.5 points lower than its total on the event the previous meet, so the Black Knights will be focused this weekend on cleaning up errors on the event and honing consistency ahead of USAG Nationals and ECACs.
Routines to watch from Army include:
- Perez’s high bar. The sophomore performed a Yamawaki, Quast, Rybalko to el grip, and stuck his full-twisting double layout dismount to take the title last week.
- Johnathan Pinc’s vault. Pinc led the team to its season-high score on vault last week after sticking his Yurchenko double full.
- Maddox Pabellon’s horse. Army will rely on Pabellon this weekend in its effort to improve on horse. The freshman has scored as high as 14.45 this season with a routine that includes a Sohn, E flop, D flop, Tong Fei, and other difficult elements.
Springfield last competed in Week 9 and fell to Greenville by a more than three-point margin. The Pride had its third-best team score of the season there and won individual titles on two events. This weekend, Springfield will look to get back into the high 380s or low 390s — its season-best this year is 390.8. The Pride will need a cleaner rings performance compared with last weekend’s and a high bar score that approaches the 63 mark.
Routines to watch from Springfield include:
- Felix Kriedemann’s high bar. Kriedemann won the event against Greenville and Simpson with a season-best 13.15. His set includes strong inbar and pirouette work, a straddle Tkatchev, and a full-twisting double layout dismount.
- Dominic Ramalho and Sam Kaplan’s parallel bars. The gymnasts shared the event title against Greenville and Simpson with scores of 13.5. That was a season-high score for Ramalho, while Kaplan has gone as high as 13.6 this year.
- Colton O’Brien’s horse. O’Brien tied for second at Springfield’s last meet and has a top score of 13.05 on pommel this year with a routine that includes an E flop, triple Russian between the handles, Wu, and triple Russian dismount.
William & Mary hosts dual with Penn State
Penn State defeated the Buckeyes but lost to Oklahoma last weekend after counting errors on horse and floor. The team had a season-best parallel bars rotation, cracking the 70 mark, and sophomore Josh Karnes had one of his best meets of the year, tallying an 83.9 in the all-around and winning two events. Penn State will be focused on cleaning up its horse and vault rotations and building consistency ahead of the Big Ten Championships. Routines to watch from the Nittany Lions include:
- Karnes’ parallel bars. He won the event again last weekend after performing his soaring Bhavsar and other difficult elements to score 14.55.
- Matthew Underhill’s rings. Underhill stuck his double-double dismount last weekend after showing off a back uprise straight planche and back uprise Maltese to score 14.0 for the event title.
- Matt Cormier’s high bar. Cormier was runner-up to Karnes on the event last weekend after catching a Kovacs, layout and straddle Tkatchevs, and landing his layout double-double to score 13.5.
William & Mary posted its second-best score of the year last weekend during its loss to Cal and Army. The team set season-highs on three events and saw strong contributions from Evan Sikra, Aidan Cuy, Ricky Pizem, William Harrington and others. The Tribe will work to repeat some of its best sets of the season on vault, parallel bars, and high bar this weekend while scoring back into the 62 range on horse.
Routines to watch from William & Mary include:
- Cuy’s vault and parallel bars routines. Cuy landed his Kas 1.5 to earn a career-high 14.1 last week and led the team’s effort on parallel bars with a score of 13.3.
- Pizem’s high bar. Pizem was runner-up on the event last week with a career-high 13.0, performing a Yamawaki, Kovacs, Zou Li Min, and sticking his full-twisting double layout dismount.
- Harrington’s floor. Harrington bounded through a double layout, double front, and stuck his full-twisting double back dismount to post a career-high 13.8 last weekend.
