NORMAN, Okla., April 19, 2012 – Six teams advanced from the National Collegiate Men’s Gymnastics National Qualifier into the finals of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships at the Lloyd Noble Center on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.
The qualifier also determined the gymnasts who will compete as individual on Friday night. The NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships begin April 20 with the team and all-around finals, with the individual event finals on April 21.
No. 6-ranked University of Michigan came from behind in the final rotation to win session one, after U.S. Senior National Team member Sam Mikulak of Ann Arbor, Mich./University of Michigan, posted a 15.800 as their anchor on the floor exercise. The Wolverines posted 353.500, followed by Penn State with 353.000 and Stanford at 348.500.
In the second session, Oklahoma, then Illinois and then Minnesota held the top spot. At the end of the night, Illinois led by national team members C.J. Maestas of Corrales, N.M./University of Illinois, and Paul Ruggeri of Manlius, N.Y./University of Illinois, closed the meet in first place, scoring 356.250 and earning the No.1 seed in tomorrow’s finals. Oklahoma followed with 356.200, and California – Berkeley (351.150).
The top three teams from both sessions advance to tomorrow night’s NCAA Championships, where the NCAA team and all-around titles will be decided.
In addition to the top three teams, the top three all-around competitors and the top three for each event who are not members of one of the qualifying teams from each qualifying session held Thursday advanced to the finals.
Current senior national team members Adrian de Los Angeles of Long Beach, Calif./University of Michigan; Jake Dalton of Reno, N.V./University of Oklahoma; Glen Ishino of Santa Ana, Calif./University of California – Berkeley; Maestas; Mikulak and Ruggeri, along with former national team member Donothan Bailey of Lake Forest, Calif./University of California – Berkeley, will participate in the finals.
Friday’s competition begins at 7 p.m. CT. Individual event finals take place Saturday, April 21, at 7 p.m. CT. Fans can watch all the action from the Men’s NCAA Championships live on NCAA.com.
For more information on the 2012 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championship, including seeding, ticket information and links to live streaming and results, click here.