After a few weeks of exhibition competitions and low-stake matchups, the NCAA men’s gymnastics season is finally in full swing with countless critical matchups each week to determine each team’s standing within the NCAA. While the first few weeks serve as somewhat of an adjustment period for coaches and teams to give their newcomers experience as they get into their rhythm and finalize line-ups, we have now reached a point where most teams are going into each week with the intent of maximizing their performance and team score.
The 4th week of competition, as characteristic of the sport in general, was full of surprises and unpredictability. Within the Big Ten, the Michigan Wolverines displayed an incredible performance against their rival Ohio State Buckeyes, winning by over a 5 point margin. The strong performance was undergirded by exceptional showings on both the parallel bars and high bar, especially by star freshman Fred Richard. Fred posted the high score on both events with a 14.85 and 14.60, respectively. After a disappointing first few weeks placed the Wolverines near the lower end of the B1G rankings, their performance this week served as a warning to those that had counted them out of winning B1G and NCAA titles this year. Furthermore, it reinforced the fact that the B1G conference is unbelievably even in terms of potential score at given matchup. Thus, it is extremely difficult to declare any true frontrunner, and it seems that any given matchup or conference championship is up for grabs to the team that puts forth the best performance. In other Big Ten Matchups, the Nebraska Cornhuskers just barely edged out the Penn State Nittany Lions by a slim margin of just over a point. Despite strong performances on the floor exercise, rings, and vault, Penn State struggled with uncharacteristic falls on pommel horse, parallel bars, and high bar. Such errors gave way for the steady, consistent performance of the Cornhuskers to take the win as competition finished. In Champaign, the fighting Illini posted a respectable score in their home-opener against Greenville, a novel division 3 program that has surprised many for their competitiveness against division 1 teams in their inaugural season. Despite some struggles with injuries, the Illini will be led heavily by members of their senior class and graduate students such as Connor McCool, Ian Skirkey, and Mike Fletcher.
Outside the Big Ten, the Stanford Cardinals once again posted the highest score in the NCAA in a head-to-head matchup against Cal Berkley. Even without world team members Brody Malone and Colt Walker, the Cardinals demonstrated the depth of their lineups and ability to get the job done regardless of circumstances. With a team that around half of its roster on the U.S Senior National Team, Stanford has not only the greatest potential and skill difficulty in the NCAA, but arguably the greatest poise, experience, and leadership. Behind Stanford, Oklahoma demonstrated a fairly strong showing in their opener against Air Force, posting a score near that of the Michigan Wolverines. Known for their clean gymnastics, the Sooners once again displayed an approach with heavy emphasis on the execution portion of their team score, a strategy that has secured multiple national titles for the team in the past.
I appreciate how you explored other teams outside of the B1G in this post! It’s super interesting how you explored the differences in team strategies when it comes to obtaining the highest score possible with various gymnastics events. I never realized that there were strategies for these point systems (e.g. Oklahoma’s emphasis on execution). I’d love to learn more about some of the best gymnasts in the B1G right now, and I think you touched a little bit on that in the middle of the post. Great blog!
Hey Will! It was interesting to read about the different college gymnastics teams. I could see that you are very passionate about it. Specifically, I thought it was interesting to read about how Stanford was able to score the highest without having some of their best competitors. It was also interesting to learn that Oklahoma also did well by having a strong execution. I am excited to read your next post.
I really liked the way this article read! It felt a lot like reading a sportscast or season update from ESPN. It was fascinating to get an update on current standings in collegiate gymnastics, especially in the Big 10.