The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I April 19, 2010 After a runner-up finish last season, the Michigan men's gymnastics team won its sixth national title, while junior Chris Cameron took home the all-around title. Despite slumping start, Santander finds his role m By AMY SCARANO Daily Sports Writer WEST POINT, New York - Competing to his potential never was his forte. But in his last competition for the Michigan men's gymnastics team and on the biggest stage, senior Mel Anton Santander laid four years of hard work in the gym out on the floor. He finished with a score of 88.900 Friday at NOTEBOOK the team NCAA Cham- pionships, good for third in the all-around competition, his first- ever All-America honors. His high scores qualified him for the parallel and the high bars in the individual championships on Saturday where Santander placed second on the parallel bars with 15.050 points and tied for third on the high bars with a score of 14.475. Santander spent most of his freshman, sophomore and junior years in a slump. Notorious for sitting quietly at meets, mull- ing over his routine in his head and letting the pressure build up inside him, it wasn't until the end of his junior season that he began to excel in competition. "It's just been a journey for me," Santander said. "To come all the way from the beginning and I just feel like I peaked at the right time, and it's just awesome. To finally be an All-American is just absolute- ly amazing. I'm pretty speechless." Before the end of his junior season, Michigan coach Kurt Golder sat down with the whole team to discuss staying loose when competing. It took Santander a few meets to take Golder's advice toj heart, but when he hit every routine at last season's NCAA team finals-in which the Wolverine's finished second-it was clear he had set the pressure aside and just had fun. "People would say that he under- achieved for his first three years," junior .and fellow All-American Chris Cameron said. "At this point in the year, he's been 10 times what many teams hope out of one of their gymnasts. He's just been a rock. And seeing Mel do that, it feels so great to watch my teammate realize his potential like Mel did this year." See SANTANDER, Page 3B _ :. ...;: ';.s':: :4=::'s . .: ' p.fi= .s'P.:; '::... " ~+' -, rg' ' " "!":d: Ift I Clockwise from bottom left: Sophomore Adam Hamers, junior Thomas Kelley, junior Chris Cameron, senior Ryan McCarthy and senior Mel Santander compete at the NCAA Championships in West Point, New York. The Wolverines took home their sixth-ever national championship in men's gymnastics and their first since 1999. By MICHAEL LAURILA Daily Sports Writer WEST POINT, New York - Fifth-year seniors Ryan McCarthy, Kent Caldwell and Phillip Goldberg made that extra year well worth it Friday when they won the national champion- ship. After a successful season last year, all three chose to return for one last shot at a title. Having finished as the NCAA runner-up last year, they easily could have walked away satisfied with that. "It wasn't all in vain," Gold- berg said. "I remember last year at NCAA, Ryan and me started talking and we were like 'dude we got to come back'. I kind of already had the mindset that I was, but with that NCAA run- Fifth-year seniors cherish title win ner-up finish, I knew we had a chance to win it all. So, I came back with that mission to do what- ever I could to help the team." In the trio's first year on the squad as freshmen in 2006, the Wolverines failed to make the top six at NCAA for the first time in nine years and the first time in Michigan coach Kurt Golder's tenure at Michigan. Prior to Golder's arrival in 1997, they failed to make the NCAA Tournament for 12 years in a row. "When us fifth years came in, we had a lot of hardships," Gold- berg said. "We were one of the laughingstocks of all the NCAA teams. And to come from the bot- tom all the way to the top, and take it to the promise land, feels real good." See SENIORS, Page 3B -a FOOTBALL Converted safety Cam Gordon makes debut By JOE STAPLETON Daily Sports Editor While most of the 35,000 sets of eyes huddled in the cold at Sat- urday's Michigan football spring game were focused on the quarter- backs, one player was making his NOTEBOOK debut at a posi- tion that was far more troubling for the Wolverines last year. Saturday's spring game meant the much-anticipated public debut of redshirt freshman Cameron Gordon at safety, where he was moved from wide receiver this spring. For weeks, the reports out of practice had indicated it was a smooth transition. At one point Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said it was one of the better person- nel moves the staff had made. Before the game, Gordon was recognized as the team's breakout player of the spring. And during the game, he seemed comfortable at the safety spot - not spectacu- lar, but he didn't seem to blow any coverages. "I feel like I transitioned over to a new position in a good way," Gor- don said. "Playing offense last year, that's where I wanted to stay at, but I felt like I had to help the team." Gordon played on both sides of the ball his entire high school career. He didn't practice as a safe- ty last year, but the position isn't entirely unfamiliar to him. Gordon's continued progress should be a huge help for a Michi- gan team that had its share of trou- bles at the safety position last year. "I did good in the spring ball, could have been better," Gordon said. "Still, got things to learn, hopefully when camp come along with more practices I can keep on moving forward." PUNTING PROBLEMS: Marty Bodnar, Michigan's ticketing director who was one of the many athletic department staff members lining the sidelines during Satur- day's game, ended up being the unintended target of many of the Michigan specialists' punts during See NOTEBOOK, Page 3B Robinson By RYAN KARTJE Daily Sports Editor A year ago, as the Michigan football team took the field for its annual spring game, high school senior Denard Robinson stood on the sidelines at the Big House. Donning his bright red and yel- low Deerfield Beach High School letterman jacket, the dual-threat quarterback looked on as early enrollee quarterback Tate Forci- er impressed Michigan fans and coaches to the tune of three touch- downs through the air. But in this year's edition, Robin- son didn't spend much time on the sidelines. The sophomore, who contribut- ed mostly with his legs last season, threw three touchdowns and ran for one Saturday while working with the first-team offense, stand- ing out in comparison to the other two quarterbacks in contention to start - Forcier and early enrollee Devin Gardner. "He's developed a whole new aspect of his game as far as mak- ing great reads and making great throws," senior defensive line- man Ryan Van Bergen said. "His throws are on lasers now, he's not throwing balls up for grabs. He's shows off putting it right on receivers. ... He's dangerous and he's probably made the most progression (this spring)." "He's always had the ability to throw it," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez added. Backed up to his own three-yard line, Robinson stood comfortably in the pocket and delivered a rope straight into the hands of sopho- more wideout Roy Roundtree who had been streaking on a post route over the middle of the field. Roundtree took the catch the dis- tance, completing the scrimmage's most electrifying play- 97 yards long - and solidifying Robinson's impressive performance. After the game, Roundtree insisted that Robinson's improved passing ability has become obvi- ous over the course of the spring, as he has focused more on adding touch to his throws. Without that necessary touch last season, Robinson threw four interceptions to just two touch- downs. "His arm is way better than it was freshman year," Roundtree said. "He's not throwing it as hard like he was, jamming people's fin- gers." See ROBINSON, Page 3B arm at spring game Sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson accounted for four touchdowns at Saturday's spring game and continues to push for the starting quarterback job. BURNIN' RUBBER 0 0 After dominating its first game with Illinois, the Wolverines took the Illini to the rubber match and prevailed yet again to stay atop the Big Ten. Page 3B : Against one of the Big Ten's better teams, the Wolverines showed that they could pull together a complete effort as the bats led the way past Northwestern. Page 2B A I.