The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 11, 2023 — 9
Michigan shuts out CSU Bakersfield as Big Ten season looms
COLE MARTIN
Daily Sports Writer
In the first period of the Michi-
gan wrestling team’s dual meet
against CSU Bakersfield on Sun-
day, No. 2 heavyweight fifth-year
senior Mason Parris wasted little
time.
Not even two minutes in, Par-
ris earned a near-fall on Jake
Andrews before mercifully end-
ing his night with a quick pin —
already his eighth pin and 15th
win of the season.
And
Parris’s
quick
finish
encapsulated the afternoon for
the Wolverines.
On Sunday, Michigan (5-0
overall) made quick work of CSU
Bakersfield (0-1), defeating the
Roadrunners, 36-0, to secure the
Wolverines’ first shutout in five
seasons.
“It’s always a goal,” Michigan
coach Sean Bormet said of the
shutout. “We just wanted to see
10 guys put their best wrestling on
the mat.”
Michigan started the night
with a decision win by 125-pound
graduate Jack Medley, whose per-
formance was just the tip of the
iceberg for the team.
The Wolverines continued to
ride decision wins from No. 5 133-
pound redshirt sophomore Dylan
Ragusin and No. 20 141-pound
redshirt junior Cole Mattin. Mat-
tin bounced back from his loss on
Friday night with a strong rever-
sal in the third period to eliminate
any chance of his opponent earn-
ing the riding time point, clinch-
ing his victory in the process.
149-pound redshirt freshman
Chance Lamer added to his come-
from-behind victory on Friday
with a major decision win, scoring
a near-fall and three takedowns.
No. 5 165-pound redshirt junior
Cam Amine made his second dual
appearance of the season after
recovering from an injury. He
wrestled to a technical fall and
pushed Michigan’s advantage to
21 points to remain undefeated
on the season in the process.
Clearly, his addition to the lineup
is of paramount significance for
Michigan.
“(Cam’s return) was great,”
Bormet said. “Great injection to
have him back in our lineup this
weekend. … It added another big
spark to our team (and) another
huge jump with Cam and just the
way he was competing.”
After Amine’s performance,
Michigan’s victory was all but set
in stone. An impressive takedown
in the last seconds of the third
period clinched a bounce-back
victory for 197-pound redshirt
sophomore Brendan Yatooma,
and finally, Parris finished his
opponent to end the domineering
contest.
After a successful non-confer-
ence schedule, Bormet is hope-
ful about the growth the team
has shown as the Big Ten sea-
son looms, which will have the
Wolverines facing off against
former national champions and
top-ranked opponents.
But despite the challenges that
lay ahead, Bermet is adamant
that his team will be ready to face
them head-on.
“We all know how tough the
Big Ten is,” Bermet said. “We’ve
got a tremendous schedule this
year that we’re really excited
about, some big challenges and
some huge opportunities as a
team. (We want to) keep the guys
excited … energized (and) training
hard and competing with time,
energy and intensity.”
And for success in such a loaded
conference, Michigan will need
the intensity from its shutout to
radiate throughout the rest of the
season.
Sports
WRESTLING
Michigan finishes second in competitive Super 16 meet
The Michigan women’s gym-
nastics team’s first meet looked
like a national championship.
All four teams ranked in the pre-
season top 10, with the fourth-
ranked Wolverines facing off
against No. 1 Oklahoma — the
defending national champions —
No. 5 Auburn and No. 10 UCLA.
At the inaugural Super 16 meet
in Las Vegas on Saturday night,
Michigan finished second with
a score of 197.400 behind the
Sooners — who took the top spot
with 197.925. The Tigers finished
third with 197.350 while the Bru-
ins finished last with a score of
197.250.
The Wolverines faced some
early adversity beginning the
night on beam, an event that
requires precision and leaves no
room for error or nerves.
“Beam is absolutely the hard-
est event to start on because you
have all this excited energy when
you’re starting a meet — espe-
cially a meet of this magnitude,”
Michigan coach Bev Plocki said.
Junior Naomi Morrison led
off with a skillful mount, but
two significant wobbles during
the routine, however, earned
her a 9.700. Senior Gabby Wil-
son and junior Carly Bauman
followed and scored 9.725 and
9.775, respectively. The struggles
continued for Michigan as senior
Sierra Brooks uncharacteristical-
ly received a 9.200 — the compe-
tition’s lowest score of the night
on any event.
In order to scratch Brooks’s
score with a higher one, the Wol-
verines needed their last two
gymnasts to hit their routines.
Star graduate students Abby
Heiskell and Natalie Wojcik were
up for the challenge. Neither vet-
eran was immune to the impreci-
sions affecting their teammates
and made some small mistakes
of their own, but poise and stuck
landings gave Heiskell a 9.825
and Wojcik a 9.850 to keep Mich-
igan’s night alive.
“We had some wobbles, but
we hung in there,” Plocki said.
“It was not the start that we had
hoped for, but there’s plenty of
teams in the country who would
love to start with that score.”
With only a decent beam
showing, the steep competition
left the Wolverines in last place
going into their floor rotation.
Junior Reyna Guggino led off
with a score of 9.800. Then, three
straight scores of 9.925 gave
Michigan an energy surge it des-
perately needed.
The Wolverines’ success on
floor did not stop there as Brooks
took an opportunity to avenge
her missed beam routine. She
landed her first and second pass
and showcased her personality
and artistry to tie for first on the
event with a score of 9.950.
Brooks’s massive floor perfor-
mance kickstarted a strong finish
to the night. As her team tried to
battle back, Brooks continued to
deliver. She stuck her vault and
received another 9.950 along
with a double fist bump from
her coach as she walked off the
mat. In her last rotation, she hit
her bar routine, complete with a
masterful transition to the low
bar and a stuck dismount to earn
her third 9.950 on the night.
“I think (Brooks) probably let
a little bit of nerves get to her on
beam, but she’s a competitor,”
Plocki said. “She let that go. She
put it out of her mind. She came
back and kicked butt on the other
three events.”
Although Michigan remained
in last place through the first
ANNA FUDER/Daily
three rotations, strong floor
and vault performances put the
Wolverines within striking dis-
tance of Auburn and UCLA. Both
teams also struggled when they
rotated to the beam event, put-
ting Michigan in position to sur-
pass them.
Along with Brooks’s impres-
sive bar performance, Heiskell
scored a 9.925 on bars and Wojcik
sealed the Wolverine’s resur-
gence in the anchor position with
a 9.975. Wojcik’s clean releases
and perfect dismount led her to
tie for first place in the event.
“We had the most difficult
rotation, and we lost to last
year’s national champions by
about five-tenths,” Plocki said.
“Overall, for the first meet, I’m
very proud and really excited for
what’s to come.”
Faced with tough competi-
tion and a poor start, Michigan
embraced the adversity and
proved that they are still one of
the elite gymnastics teams in the
country. But as they continue
the season, they’ll look to fix the
issues the meet also exposed.
Michigan continues success in season opener
As the reigning Big Ten Cham-
pions, the No. 2 Michigan men’s
gymnastics team returned plenty
of star power in hopes of another
strong season. In its first meet of the
season it delivered with convincing
wins over No. 14 Greenville and No.
15 Simpson. In the process it showed
the potential the Wolverines have to
sustain last year’s success.
Success is something that the
Michigan men’s gymnastics team
has become accustomed to lately.
Just look at the last two years. The
team won two straight Big Ten
Championships, and won a share of
the 2022 regular season conference
title as well.
Head coach Yuan Xiao was
named Big Ten Coach of the Year
and College Gymnastics Associa-
tion Regional Coach of the Year in
his first season – all as the interim
head coach. Xiao then earned the
job officially following the season.
The Wolverines were led last year
by then-junior Paul Juda, an ath-
lete with an extensive list of awards
including international appearanc-
es and 2022 NCAA national cham-
pionships in the all-around and
vault events.
The list of awards this team has
won can go on seemingly forever,
but that does not guarantee them
anything this year.
Following
Saturday’s
event,
senior team captain Adam Woo-
ten, 2021 and 2022 All-American in
the high bar event, spoke about his
feelings for the coming season after
their first event.
“It’s a good base is how I would
describe it in a general sense,” Woo-
ten said. “That being said, we have
a really long way to go. When we’re
starting the season there’s always
going to be mistakes.”
In such a young season mistakes
are bound to happen, yet the stan-
dard is high for the Wolverines.
Wooten’s words prove that the Wol-
verines are without a doubt satis-
fied with their victory, but there
is always a path for improvement
throughout the season.
Michigan was not at full power
for this meet, the most obvious
absence being the aforementioned
Juda as he sat out to let more inex-
perienced athletes compete. His
absence leaves lots of room for high-
er scores at future events. Even with
Juda’s absence, Michigan showed
in its 400.600 score that it has what
is needed to continue success in a
strong program: talented young
athletes behind the veterans.
“I’m biased obviously, but I
don’t think we have a weak lineup
that we could put up,” Wooten
said. “I’m so proud of the guys.”
Veterans like Juda and Woo-
ten have proven track records,
but Saturday’s meet proved that
they have plenty of talent behind
them. In their first collegiate
meet, freshmen Landon Blixt and
Fred Richard looked to carry on
the tradition of the team’s recent
success. Blixt took home first in
the floor event en route to taking
first in the all around competition,
where he beat out his only compe-
tition, a teammate in sophomore
Rithik Puri. Richard showed his
prowess by taking home first in
the horizontal bar event.
“We had our number one guy,
Paul Juda, not competing but I
see the depth,” Xiao said. “I think
this is a team that will be growing
from today.”
Past seasons show that this
team is set up for success. They
have proven winners and young
contributors that have only shown
glimpses of the success they can
create. While only one meet in,
Michigan has shown it has the
potential to continue its long term
success deep into this season.
Now, they look to make good
on their promises.
MEN’S GYMNASTICS
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS
JENNA HICKEY/Daily
REKHA LEONARD
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan wins first meet,
beats Greenville and Simpson
JONATHAN WUCHTER
Daily Sports Writer
In his first event at Michigan,
Landon Blixt performed a strong
floor routine, flipping through
the air and sticking every landing.
The bench and crowd erupted as
the freshman’s 13.800 in the first
rotation set the tone for the domi-
nant performance the Wolverines
cultivated in their first meet of the
season.
On Saturday afternoon, No. 2
Michigan (2-0) defeated No. 14
Greenville (1-1) and No. 15 Simpson
(0-2) convincingly, winning all six
events at both the team and indi-
vidual level. The Panthers edged
the Storm 373.100-341.350, but nei-
ther came close to the Wolverines’
score of 400.600.
“We wanted to see our freshmen
compete for the first time at Cliff
Keen (Arena),” Michigan Coach
Yuan Xiao said. “They showed their
talent.”
Greenville and Simpson per-
formed on the floor in the second
and third rotation, but no individ-
ual routine came close to catching
Blixt’s. The Wolverines secured the
top four individual performances in
the event, with junior Kyle Shuttle,
sophomore Lais Najjar and senior
Casey Cummings just behind Blixt.
Together their individual efforts
gave the team an event winning
score of 65.550.
In Michigan’s second rotation,
pommel, Xiao continued to give
opportunities to his freshmen, as
Fred Richard and Eric Hoe com-
peted alongside Blixt. Once again,
the freshman flexed strong rou-
tines as Richard and Blixt placed
second and third. However, it
was senior Markus Shears who
impressed the judges and won the
event with a 14.450.
While many of Michigan’s top
gymnasts from last season, includ-
ing last year’s all-around individ-
ual national champion senior Paul
Juda, gave way for younger team-
mates to gain experience, senior
Adam Wooten provided some star
power.
The Wolverines looked to sweep
the first three events on the rings
and build upon a commanding lead
heading into the final three events,
and Wooten delivered. Opponents
failed to match his dominant rou-
tine, winning the event convinc-
ingly. His younger teammates
provided strong support as they
finished second through fifth in the
event as well.
“I’m so proud of the guys that we
have on this team,” Wooten said.
“Everyone is working so hard.”
Michigan’s hard work led to a
strong performance throughout
the early events. Halfway through
the meet it had the lead — its
200.400 stood convincingly above
the Panthers’ 184.400 and the
Storm’s 165.250.
Next for the Wolverines was the
vault. Even without Juda — last
year’s vault individual national
champion — Michigan continued
its dominance. Cummings and
sophomore David Wolma tied
for the win with scores of 14.350.
Four Wolverines posted scores
over 14.000, helping Michigan
post its best single event score of
the match, 70.650.
Already holding a secure lead,
the young Wolverines continued
to live up to Xiao and Wooten’s
praise. This time it was Najjar
who finished first on the parallel
bars, with Blixt placing second.
In the final event, high bar,
Wooten’s solid 14.300 routine
got bested by Richard’s score of
14.550. Wooten and Richard led
a team score of 67.100, completing
the six event sweep for Michigan.
“I’m so happy for the team per-
formance,” Xiao said. “And we
know this is not our full poten-
tial.”
Xiao’s squad — while filled
with underclassmen — was able
to dominate inferior competition
even with many of the Wolver-
ines’ top gymnasts from the 2021
Big Ten Championship team not
competing. The development of
these underclassmen could com-
pliment Michigan’s proven stars
and help propel it to compete for
the long season ahead.
MEN’S GYMNASTICS
The Michigan women’s gymnastics team finished second in its season-opening meet.
In it’s first meet of the season, the Michigan men’s gymnastics team showed potential to build off of recent success.
JENNA HICKEY/Daily
The Michigan men’s gymnastic team convincingly won its first meet of the season.
SAMUEL NOVOTNY
For The Daily
KATE HUA/Daily
For the first time in nearly five years, the Michigan wrestling team shut out an opponent.