Men's Gymnasts of the Week – Feb. 9-11, 2024

Gymnast of the Week awards are given by conference offices and the College Gymnastics Association.

Gymnast of the Week
Paul Juda – Michigan
See below for accomplishments.

Rookie of the Week
Brandon Deng – Illinois
See below for accomplishments.

Specialist of the Week
Ignacio Yockers – Oklahoma
See below for accomplishments.

Gymnast of the Week
Paul Juda – Michigan

• Won the All-Around in No. 2 Michigan’s win over No. 3 Nebraska
• Posted an all-around score of 86.200, a career-best and the highest in the country this season
• Won individual titles in the floor exercise, pommel horse, vault, parallel bars, and high bar
• Garners his seventh Gymnast of the Week award and second of the season

Specialist of the Week
Brandon Dang – Illinois

• Won the pommel horse in No. 5 Illinois’s win over Simpson
• Score of 14.950 is the fourth-highest score in the even this season
• Earns his first Event Specialist of the Week award

Freshman of the Week
Chase Mondi – Nebraska

• Finished second to Juda with a season-best score of 13.900 in the floor exercise against No. 2 Michigan
• Earned a sixth-place finish in the vault with a score of 14.600
• Earns his first Freshman of the Week award

Gymnast of the Week
Sam Kaplan – Springfield
Kaplan delivered a career best performance in the all-around, totaling 79.6 to help Springfield to its highest team score since 2016. He beat his previous all-around record by more than two points. Kaplan won the parallel bars and was third on the pommel horse and rings in powering springfield past William & Mary on Sunday.

Co-Specialists of the Week
Ricky Pizem – William & Mary
Pizem earned a winning score on high bar with a career-best 13.50 while helping lead the Tribe to season high team score.

Vishal Mandava – Navy
Mandava turned in a career-best 13.15 performance on the high bar on his way to victory on Saturday night at the All-Academy Championship. He out-paced the field by 0.15 points.

Rookie of the Week
Brian Rollison – Simpson
Brian Rollison broke his own school record on rings with a 13.900, which tied Illinois’ Sebastian Ingersoll for second place in the event. Rollison has earned a 13.200 or higher in each of his four outings this season.

Gymnast of the Week
Fuzzy Benas – Oklahoma
Oklahoma redshirt-sophomore Fuzzy Benas (Richmond, TX) scored an 83.350 all-around to lead a win over No. 10 California (Feb. 10). Benas also claimed the vault title with a season-high 14.850. On high bar, he surpassed his previous season-high by three-tenths and matched his career-best 14.200, while his 14.300 on parallel bars was his second-highest this season. Benas helped OU register its, and the nation’s, second-highest team score of the season with 417.800. This is the fourth career MPSF weekly award for Benas.

Specialist of the Week
Brendan Strom – California
California freshman Brendan Strom (Simi Valley, CA) set a new personal-best of 13.600 on floor to help the Bears reach a season-high score of 400.800 at No. 1 Oklahoma (Feb. 10). Strom added a 13.100 on parallel bars. This is the first career MPSF award for Strom.

Freshman of the Week
Ignacio Yockers – Oklahoma
Oklahoma sophomore Ignacio Yockers (Tulsa, OK) posted the highest score nationally on any event this season with his 15.450 pommel horse routine to help the Sooners get past No. 10 California (Feb. 10). Yockers eclipsed the previous high score overall (15.250 on floor exercise by OU’s Emre Dodanli) by two-tenths of a point. His performance helped lead the Sooners to a 417.800 total, the nation’s second-highest team score of the season. This is the seventh career MPSF weekly award for Yockers, including three in the last four weeks.