University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Shine During Individual Event Finals
4/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Senior Mitchell Mays claimed the individual title on vault, junior Kit Beikmann finished second on pommel horse and sophomore Cole Storer placed third on high bar to highlight Minnesota’s performance during the Big Ten Event Championships Saturday night at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa.
Mays, who has led the national vault rankings from start to finish this season, was once again squarely on top of his game and drilled his Tsukahara double pike to claim the Big Ten crown with a season-high tying score of 16.650.
“Mitchell handled a very high pressure situation tonight in the finals,” said Burns. 'Wickam from Ohio State was up right before Mitchell on did an outstanding vault for a 16.400. Mitchell did a great job of staying in his comfort zone on his vault and putting it on his feet to win the title. 'I'm not sure if people can fathom the amazing difficulty of this vault. The other gymnasts in the competition definitely appreciate what it takes for Mitchell to do this vault with such consistency.”
Beikmann was the first Gopher to earn a top-3 finish on the night, placing second on pommel horse.
The defending Big Ten Champion finished fourth on the event during the team competition on Friday night and drew the unenviable lead-off spot in the Saturday rotation. One of the nation’s most consistent performers on pommels all year long, Beikmann again turned in a strong routine and came within a tenth of a point of equaling his season-high score with a 14.900.
It was good enough to hold down the No. 1 position through the first seven gymnasts, but could not survive Illinois’ Daniel Ribeiro, who performed eighth. The nation’s top-ranked performer unleashed a spectacular routine for an eye-popping score of 15.700 and the individual title.
“Kit was the first competitor of the night on pommel horse and did a very clean routine then had to wait for the other 8 gymnasts to compete to see how his score held up,” Burns said. “He stayed ahead of everyone except Illinois' Daniel Ribeiro.”
Storer, the final Gopher to perform at the championship, rounded Minnesota’s top-3 finishes and placed third on high bar.
After tying for fifth on the apparatus during the team championship, Storer earned a score of 14.800 Saturday night to place just one-tenth of a point behind event titlist Wes Haagensen of Illinois, who won the competition with a score of 14.900.
“Cole was determined to win a Big Ten title tonight and he came within one-tenth of a point of making it happen,” said Burns. “This was the most determined I've seen Cole all year and I think the fire in his belly is burning intensely in anticipation of the NCAA Championships in two weeks.”
Sophomore Andre Berry, senior co-captain Sergei Dmitriev and sophomore Colin McGuire were also in action Saturday night. Berry tied for ninth on vault with a score of 15.000, Dmitriev placed eighth on parallel bars with a score of 13.050 and McGuire finished eighth on high bar with a score of 14.050.
The Gophers will learn Tuesday if they will qualify to the 2008 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, which will be held at Stanford University, April 17-19.
2008 Big Ten Men’s Gymnastics Championships
Individual Event Finals (Top-3 Finishers)
Rec Hall
University Park, Pa.
Host: Penn State
FLOOR EXERCISE
1. Thomas Kelley, Michigan, 15.500; 2. Casey Sandy, Penn State, 15.350; 3. Wes Haagensen, Illinois, 15.200
POMMEL HORSE
1. Daniel Ribeiro, Illinois, 15.700; 2. Kit Beikmann, Minnesota, 14.900; 3. Casey Sandy, Penn State, 14.750.
STILL RINGS
1. Tommy Ramos, Penn State, 15.500; 2. Tyler Yamauchi, Illinois, 15.450; 3. Vladi Klurman, Penn State, 15.050.
VAULT
1. Mitchell Mays, Minnesota, 16.650; 2. Jimmy Wickham, Ohio State, 16.400; 3. Geoff Reins, Iowa, 16.200.
PARALLEL BARS
1. Casey Sandy, Penn State, 15.300; 2. DJ Bucher, Ohio State, 15.100; 3. Tyler Yamauchi, 14.800.
HIGH BAR
1. Wes Haagensen, Illinois, 14.900; 2. Paul Ruggeri, Illinois, 14.850; 3. Cole Storer, Minnesota, 14.800.
Players Mentioned
