Men's gymnastics crushes UMass; may vault to No. 1

Outstanding individual performances are an important part of a successful team, but they do not always assure victory. Consistency throughout the team is one of the keys to winning.

In recent weeks the Michigan men's gymnastics team has lost two close meets despite seeing solid performances from some of its gymnasts. On Saturday, against Massachusetts, the team was strong in every way, cruising to a 229.275-220.15 victory.

The Wolverines, who are healthier than they have been all season, showed the depth of their team. Only two gymnasts competed in the all-around competition. In all, the team saw 11 of 13 healthy gymnasts compete in at least one event.

Their consistency was shown in the team's scores - only two scores from the evening were below 9.0 for the Wolverines. In contrast, Massachusetts did not finish one event without a score below 9.0. The Wolverines also 'hit' 90 percent of their routines for the night, a team high under coach Kurt Golder.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily Several months ago, the Michigan men's gymnastics team was doing promotional stunts out on the Diag. Now, after a big home win over Massachusetts, the Wolverines are threatening to take over the No. 1 spot in the nation.

The team score of 229.275 is a Michigan record, and also is the highest score of the season in the nation. The score could move Michigan to No. 1 nationally.

The Minutemen came in ranked ninth and had their sights set on knocking off the second-ranked Wolverines. As soon as the meet started however, Michigan started to excel. After the first rotation of the evening, the Wolverines had already built a lead of almost three points.

"We were focused on only ourselves. When we had Ohio State and Illinois in here we went one event at a time, which gave us a chance to watch everyone," Golder said. "Tonight we just went all the way through and kept the focus on our team. It's something that the guys need to learn to do for the big meets, because they go one event at a time."

Michigan won five of six events for the evening, only losing the vault, 37.95-37.925. In four out of six events, they scored over 38.0.

The Wolverine who led the way was freshman Scott Vetere. Vetere, who has been one of the top all-around competitors in the nation, performed his best of the season. He won the all-around with a score of 56.95, finishing ahead of LaLo Haro and the Minutemen's Jeff LaVallee. Haro and LaVallee tied for second in the competition with a score of 56.6.

Vetere hit on all six events, a first for him at Michigan. Vetere changed his high bar routine a little, and performed his vault routine for only the second time. The changes helped him by giving him more confidence in his ability to compete. That confidence resulted in winning performances on the pommel horse and vault.

"He was hitting the high bar about 50-50 in practice, and we decided that he needed to go six-for-six. You can tell someone that they can do it, but until they do they are not going to have the confidence," Golder said.

"Vetere is my performer of the day. For hitting all six, for his vault which was a 9.7, and for his pommel horse which was a 9.85."

The other leader was co-captain Justin Toman. Toman has looked like one of the best gymnasts in the country in recent weeks. He continues to skip competing in the still rings because of an arm injury, but has been excelling in other events. Toman won the parallel bars with a 9.825, high bar with a 9.725, and floor exercise with a 9.75.

"They put me last this week, which was the first time I competed last," Toman said. "That really gave me a lot of confidence. I saw my teammates go out and hit, and it made me want to hit to."

Kenny Keener won the still rings - scoring 9.65 - rounding out the sweep for the Wolverines. Daniel Diaz-Luong, one of the nation's leaders in the all-around only competed in five events because of a sore toe that kept him out of the floor exercise, but highlighted his day by earning second in four of those events.

The team was able to achieve its record performance by focusing on the basics. By keeping their focus on themselves, and working all week on hitting their routines the team came out and gave a dominating performance.

"We had a goal tonight of 230, we fell a little bit short. We're getting there, we wanted to hit all of our routines and get 230," senior co-captain Randy D'Amura said. "Last year 231 won the national championship, we're on track to do that."

After two losses the team seems to have righted itself. The Wolverines are getting better as the season goes on, as the younger players have gained experience and confidence. Michigan's win this weekend against UMass can only add to that.

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