Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Event: NCAA Championship Finals
Scores: #2 Michigan 332.224, #3 Stanford 332.061, #1 Oklahoma 327.891, #4 Nebraska 326.222, #5 Penn State 317.258, #6 Illinois: 316.293
Record: U-M (22-3)
Next U-M Event: Season completed
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan men’s gymnastics team, ranked second nationally, claimed its seventh NCAA men’s gymnastics title at the Crisler Center on Saturday night. The victory marked their first championship since 2014 and was secured by Paul Juda’s final vault. Michigan trailed Oklahoma by 0.537 points before Juda’s 13.966 vault sealed a narrow win over Stanford by 0.163 points.
Fred Richard captured the individual all-around title with an 84.264 score. Paul Juda won the parallel bars with a season-best 14.200 and finished second in the all-around (82.164). Evgeny Siminiuc earned bronze on the parallel bars (14.066). Richard and Carson Eshleman tied for second on the high bar, scoring 13.766 each.
Seven Wolverines earned 17 All-America citations. Richard achieved All-America honors across all six events and the all-around competition.
Parallel Bars
Michigan opened the meet strongly, with Siminiuc and Juda sticking their landings. Juda’s season-high 14.200, along with Siminiuc’s 14.066, led to a team score of 55.832, putting U-M in an early lead.
High Bar
The Wolverines maintained momentum with a solid rotation, as all four athletes scored at least 13.600. Richard and Eshleman led with 13.766 each, resulting in a 54.798 event score. Despite Stanford’s strong floor exercise, Michigan held a lead of 110.630-110.299.
Floor Exercise
Solen Chiodi began with a 13.766. Richard, Juda, and Larson each exceeded 14.000, helping Michigan extend their lead in the third rotation to a total of 166.798, ahead of Oklahoma by 2.132 points.
Pommel Horse
Richard’s 13.900 kept Michigan ahead despite falls from Juda and Aaronson Mansberger. Zach Granados contributed a 13.466 for a total event score of 53.232, maintaining their lead over Oklahoma, 220.069-219.395.
Still Rings
U-M achieved their second-best event score of the season with a 55.598. Javier Alfonso set a new season-high of 13.822, while Richard and Rithik Puri closely missed their season highs. U-M fell to second place behind Stanford, trailing Oklahoma by 0.537 points entering the final rotation.
Vault
Michigan secured the NCAA title with a 56.599 vault score, their third-highest of the season. Richard hit a season-high 14.400, setting the stage for Juda’s decisive final attempt.
All-Around
Richard and Juda led the all-around standings early. After a fall on pommel horse, Juda dropped to third but regained second on the still rings. Juda finished with a 69.198, just behind Richard’s 69.864. Richard’s 14.400 on vault clinched his all-around victory.
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