Monday
The Michigan Daily | michigandailycom I April 14, 2014
Men's gymnastics
champions again
Second-ranked
Wolverines complete
perfect season
By ALEX TAYLOR
Daily Sports Writer
The word 'perfect' is almost never
mentioned in gymnastics, a sport
that adheres countless deductions
to the smallest of errors, but the
Michigan men's gymnastics team's
performance Friday night came
pretty darn close.
After finishing the regular season
undefeated and then winning the
Big Ten championship, the second-
ranked Wolverines wrapped up
their perfect season by winning the
National Championship with a score
of 445.050. Competing at home in
the Crisler Center, Michigan edged
out second place Oklahoma and third
place Stanford to reach the pinnacle
of collegiate gymnastics for a second
straight year.
The Wolverines earned the first
repeat national championship in
school history since the Trampoline
program did so in 1969-1970. Friday
also marked the third championship
in five years for Michigan, and its
sixth all time.
"It just doesn't get any better
than winning it at home," said
Michigan coach Kurt Golder. "And
this is my fourth one, and they are
all great, but winning it in front of
a Michigan crowd in Crisler Center.
And then it being a repeat, it just
makes it all the sweeter. I couldn't
ask for anything more."
In addition to winning back-to-
back team championships, senior
Sam Mikulak also took home back-
to-back all-around titles, with a
total score of 91.10. Mikulak had the
highest score in three out of the six
events on the night, highlighted by
his performances on parallel bars
and floor exercise.
His individual title, the sixth
individual championship of his
career, leaves him only two short
of holding the most individual
championships in NCAA history
ahead of Saturday's conipetition.
See CHAMPS, Page 2B
Mikulak equals record with seventh title
Senior struggles but
still makes history
Saturday night
Hartung and Illinois' Joe Giallombardo.
One more first-place finish to earn
seven titles. And after a long night of
underwhelming routines, Mikulak
finally earned his place in history.
"It feels good," Mikulak said. "That's
a great class of men to be a part of, and
I'mhonored to be one ofthose gymnasts
who will forever be remembered."
Mikulak's night started on pommel
horse, but his usually tight routine
fell apart at the seams with a couple
of failed moves. He would finish
with a 13.250 for 10th
place out of 10.
With an opportunity to make up for
his mistakes on floor, Mikulak couldn't
stick dismounts to earn a final score of
15.125 - good enough for fourth place,
just ahead of his teammate, Stacey
Ervin, who took fifth.
On his next attempt,
the vault, ult._
Mikulak's dismount doomed him once
again, and he finished eighth. Even
freshman Tristan Perez-Rivera finished
ahead of him in seventh.
So with one final event remaining, the
parallel bars, Mikulak found himself in
a pressure-packed situation. He had
one shot for the history books, so he
had to feel some anxiousness, right?
"You know what they say: nope,"
Mikulak said with a laugh.
And
perhaps
there
shouldn't
have
been.
Just two weeks ago, Mikulak set a new
NCAA record in the event. The night
before, he was just .05 points away from
tying it. If anything, a strong parallel
bars routine was expected of him.
As Mikulak released the bars to enter
his dismount, Crisler Center held its
breath. The crowd didn't know what to
expect after his first three routines.
Mikulak stuck
the dismount. The
green flag - the
sign for an added
stick bonus -
flew in the air.
See MIKULAK,
Page 2B
KINGS OF CRISLER
Sam Mikulak fell, but his recovery
helped the Michigan men's gymastics
team celebrate on its home mat.
SportsMonday Column, Page 2B
NOT EVEN CLOSE
The Michigan softball team swept
Michigan State, outscoring the Spartans
31-1 in three mercy-rule victories.
Page 4B