As expected, Team USA dominated the 2012 Pacific Rim Championships, by running away with the team title by 7.35 points over runner-up Japan. It came down to the final event, floor, to decide the all-around champion. Barring a disaster, it was going to be either [...more]
It's interesting to see how this season's new vault scoring scheme has impacted overall team scores compared to last season. Vault start values are now receiving a 1-point deduction. At this point in the season last year, Oklahoma and Stanford were also ranked in the top 2. If you add four points to this season's team scoring average, the Sooners are averaging [...more]
The 2009 season was a turning point for Jake Martin. After topping out in the top 36 as a Level 9 at the 2008 JO Nationals, the next season became Martin's breakout year. A 7th place AA finish (Level 10/14-15) at the '09 JO Nationals in Cincinnati led to a 3rd place AA that summer at the U.S. Championships, where he also had top 5 placements on four events (FX, PH, VT, HB). Many club gymnastics fans were wondering where this kid came from. Well, after the '09 season, [...more]
In a Friday battle in Columbus, 4th-ranked Stanford posted their season-best team score of 355.80, as they upended 5th-ranked Ohio State. The first few rotations were spectacular, as Ohio State posted a respectable 59.00 on FX, led by freshman Danny Steiner's 15.25 and Misha Koudinov's 15.05. It was then on to PH for the Buckeyes, where they absolutely tore up [...more]
Oklahoma (357.05) and Stanford (351.04) both hit season highs for team scores, with the Sooners compiling the nation's best so far. In the weekend's top AA battle, Jake Dalton (90.5) outshined Eddie Penev (87.90). Dalton's score is now the season's high, and only the second score of 90.00 or above (Sam Mikulak-90.00). On top of the 1.0-point lower start value on vault [...more]
Danell Leyva and John Orozco did absolutely nothing at the American Cup to dispel the notion that they are lead-pipe cinches to earn spots on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. Many in the media say that Leyva came from behind to win the gold. Nonsense! All he had to do to win it was to [...more]
Seven-time All-American and Stanford grad Josh Dixon will be competing this weekend at the Houston National Invitational. It will be his first major competition since injuring his achilles tendon shortly after the 2011 NCAA Championships. It was there, [...more]
This season's crop of freshmen in NCAA men's gymnastics has been quite the productive bunch. Several are nationally ranked in the top 20 and have contributed mightily to their respective programs. Arguably, this is the most productive freshman class in a while, and looking at the pipeline of 2013 and 2014 athletes expected to sign letters of intent, this is looking like a [...more]
Penn State compiled the nation's season-high team score of 355.50 in their victory over Ohio State (347.20). The Nittany Lions overwhelmed the Buckeyes on all six events, including winning margins of over two points each on SR and HB. The nation's top rings program produced an average score of 15.21, led by Scott Rosenthal (16.10). The Lions, led by freshman Tristan Duverglas' 15.25, averaged an impressive 15.05 on [...more]
