Event Finals – Second Half – Recap

On Vault, Tristian scores 14.9 and takes seventh place.  Sam scores a 14.8 and takes eight place.  Both make the cut off to earn All-American honors.

On parallel bars, Syque scores 15.325 and takes 3rd place.  Sam scores a huge 15.875, winning parallel bars and tying for the most collegiate national titles of any gymnast ever (7).  Both gymnasts will All-American.

On high bar, Syque scores a 14.975 and takes 4th place.  He will also earn All-American honors on this event.

In all, Michigan takes home 5 All-American honors from tonight’s competition, which is icing on the cake after last night’s win!

Parallel Bars – Event Finals – Sam – 15.875

Sam has struggled tonight, so parallel bars is his last chance to tie for the most national titles of any gymnast.  And he performs beautifully.  His routine features a huge giant suarez finishing multiple feet above the bar.  His front 1 1/4 to long hang is also enormous and the crowd goes ballistic when he sticks his double pike dismount.

Sam scores a 15.875, moving him into 1st place with only Sean Melton of OSU left to compete.

Routine: FUR straddle cut; peach ½ (perfect); peach; giant suarez (enormous); front 1 1/4 to long hang (enormous); giant; tippelt; Stutz (over rotates with two steps forward); double pike (stick)

High Bar – Event Finals – Syque – 14.975

Syque has become quite the high bar worker and is currently ranked 10 in the nation.  His season high of 15.8 ties Jake Martin for the highest high bar score of any currently ranked collegiate gymnast (Note: Sam is not ranked on high because he did not compete in enough regular season competitions).

And Syque’s routine is a combination of highs and lows.  He has some great release work, but messes up a full tak.  As such, he doesn’t connect it to a yamawaki and loses difficulty points.  But he finishes with a beautiful dismount with just a small hop to finish his career as a wolverine.

Syque scores a 14.975

Routine: endo full to mix; yamawaki 1/2; full tak (finish way past handstand) ; yamawaki; tkatcehv; rybalko (finish way past handstand); 1/2 tak (perfect handstand finish!); stalder; quast; double layout 1/1 (small hop)

Vault – Event Finals – Sam – 14.8

Sam is quite the vaulter, having qualified to the vault event finals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.  At those games, he competed a Kas 2/1 (a triple twisting tsukahara), but today he only performs a Kas 3/2.

He splits his legs on the preflight and takes a large hop backwards, scoring a 14.8.

 

 

 

Vault – Event Finals – Tristian – 14.9

Tristian may just be a freshman, but he has been a huge asset to Michigan the entire season.  He is currently ranked #4 in the nation.

Tristian performs a beautiful Kas 3/2 vault with just a small hop backwards.  He scores a 14.9.  Personally, I have no idea where the judges found 0.7 in deduction.

Parallel Bars – Event Finals – Syque – 15.325

Parallel Bars is Syque’s signature event, and he is currently ranked #1 in the country on parallel bars.  Syque qualified to event finals in 6th place yesterday with a score of 15.2.  At the 2012 Olympic Games, Syque placed 27th on parallel bars.

And Syque’s routine is definitely world class.  He begins with beautiful underbar work, highlighted by a huge giant suarez.  He finishes his routine strongly with a beautiful double pike with just a hop forward.

Syque scores a 15.325

Routine: Peach; fur suarez; giant one bar; giant; giant suarez; heely; peters; front 1 1/4; moy; double pike (hop forward)

Event Finals – 1st Half – Recap

On floor, Sam scores a 15.125 and takes 4th place, just edging out teammate Stacey Ervin, who scores a 15.1 and takes 5th place.  Both gymnasts earn All-American honors on the floor exercise.

On horse, Sam scores a 13.250 after nearly falling off the horse.  Sam places last (10th), and will not earn All-American honors on the pommel horse.  Having not won either floor or horse, Sam is yet to tie Jim Hartung and Joe Giallombardo for the most ever national titles.  But he still has two more chances, as he will compete on vault and parallel bars in the second half of tonight’s event finals.

Floor Finals – Sam – 15.125

Sam won floor in last night’s team finals with a 16.05, and he is currently ranked #1 in the country on this event.  Despite breaking both ankles simultaneously on a floor dismount as a sophomore, Sam continues to be a dominant force on the floor exercise.  He competes last on floor tonight and needs to beat a 15.425 to win.

But Sam’s floor routine is similar to his horse routine, filled with rather uncharacteristic errors.  He nearly falls on his second pass, and while he attempts a very difficult “air flair,” he scrapes his foot on the ground and bends his legs, losing more in deduction than the skill is worth.

Sam scores a 15.125, and still manages to claim 4th place.

Routine: Back 3/2 punch 2/1 (low landing and small hop); front 1/1 punch double front (low flip large step to side; almost falls); back 5/2 punch front 3/2 (step back); air flair (nearly falls and scrapes foot on floor); wide arm press; layout thomas; layout thomas; back 3/1 (hop and step back)

Horse Finals – Sam – 13.25

Sam enters tonight’s horse finals having qualified number 1 with a 15.6.  He is currently unranked on Horse, as he did not compete horse at enough regular season competitions to have a national qualifying average.  That said, he did compete horse at the 2012 Olympic Games, so he is definitely a competitor to watch out for.

But tonight certainly wasn’t Sam’s best night.  His scissor work was good to begin the routine, but he smacks his legs on his russian flop, causing him to lose balance, break form, and nearly fall off the horse.  Miraculously, Sam does not fall, but he never seems to get back into the swing of things.  The rest of his routine has quite a few form errors and he finishes with just a C dismount, dropping his start value by 3 tenths in the process.  

Sam scores a 13.25, putting him in last place

Routine: Mikulak; scissor 1/1 travel; stockli b down; d russian flop (hits the horse, bends and splits his legs and by some miracle stays on the horse); tong fei (legs split); triple russian (legs split and bend); magyar; sivado (legs split); c handstand dismount

Floor Finals – Stacey – 15.1

Stacey qualified into tonight’s finals in seventh place with a score of 15.3.  Interestingly, Stacey is unranked in the national gymnastics rankings.  Because he did not compete floor at the B1G Championships, he was not eligible to be nationally ranked.  That said, Stacey is definitely one of the best tumblers in the country.

And Stacey really impresses the crowd.  His landings are essentially flawless with just a small hop on his Tamayo and his Arabian Double Tuck.  His Tamayo is huge, even for Stacey.  Not to mention, Stacey’s connection tumbling is immaculate as well.  What a great way to end the 2014 season for Stacey.

Unfortunately, Stacey’s 15.1 puts him in second place (behind CJ Maestas of Illinois) with only 2 competitors having gone.

Routine: Front 2/1 punch front 1/1; Tamayo (small hop but so high); press; back 5/2 punch front 1/2; back 3/2 punch front 3/2; layout thomas; arabian double tuck (small hop)