University of Minnesota Athletics
2011 Preview: Parallel Bars
12/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
One of the top returners will be senior Michael Paulus who nearly made the NCAA event finals a year ago, and competed 11 times last season in the parallel bars, earning a season-high score of 14.650 against Nebraska.
"Paulus has had a great summer, he's really in good shape and he's looking like he's going to be a strong scorer for us on the parallel bars," Minnesota head coach Mike Burns said.
Junior Russell Dabritz is also expected to be a key contributor to the Gophers on the parallel bars. He had a very solid season on the event his freshmen year when he was ranked No. 4 on the event and was Big Ten runner-up. Minnesota will be looking to Dabritz to regain some of that form in the upcoming season to further its veteran presence on the parallel bars.
"Of all the events, parallel bars is where we have the most firepower coming back," Burns said. "This should be a good event for us, especially with us being heavy in the upper classmen coming back for us. That experience will really help us under pressure."
Other returners expected to contribute include senior Michael Hillin, juniors Ross Cameratta and Adam LaFleur, and sophomore Josh Wokurka, all whom will be bringing experience to the table on the parallel bars.
Although the Gophers will be less dependent on freshman in the parallel bars than they are in other events, there will be room for some incumbent talent as freshman Matt Frey could also make his way into the parallel lineup this year as well.
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Players Mentioned
