Fourth — the No. 4 Michigan men’s gymnastics team’s finish in each of the last three Pacific Coast Classics.

Fourth — Michigan’s finish at the Big Ten Championships each of the last three years.

Fourth — the Wolverines’ highest finish at the NCAA Championships since 2000.

They’re sick of fourth place, and they’re sick of watching the Pacific Coast Classic temporarily derail their season. Aside from the championship meets, competition in Oakland, Calif. is Michigan’s toughest each year — and every time Michigan doesn’t perform up to expectations it sends the team into a mini-tailspin.

This season’s Classic will feature five of the nation’s top six teams. No. 1 Oklahoma, a usual participant, won’t be in attendance, but it will be replaced by a team of Japanese collegiate all-stars.

“It’s been a turning point for the worse,” senior Jamie Thompson said. “This year, I think we have a better mindset going into it.

"We have a plan now, and we’ve been working toward that plan every meet, and every day in practice.”

The Wolverines used their pre-Classic bye week to make major routine upgrades, especially on vault, their weakest event in terms of start value. All season, Michigan has featured a mixture of clean, lower-value vaults and riskier higher-value ones. But in practice on Monday, nine different gymnasts did vaults worth at least 16.2 points in an informal intrasquad.

Thompson injured his ankle in practice Wednesday performing a high-value handspring double front — exactly the reason Michigan didn't want to use the riskier skills early in the season.

For the Classic, all of the Wolverines’ vaults will be worth at least 16.2, just like their opponents. For the first time all year, the team won’t be at a multiple-point disadvantage in the event.

“Our vault score should jump and it should raise our confidence a lot for the rest of the meet to have those vaults in (the) lineup,” Thompson said.

The Wolverines will also have the advantage of a favorable event rotation.

They’ll begin the meet on the high bar, their weakest event, and end on parallel bars, arguably one of their strongest. It’s the same rotation Michigan followed in its Windy City Invitational victory to open the season and the one it will have for the Big Ten Championship meet at Crisler Arena in April.

But as always, success is all about hits. For the past three years, the Wolverines have had a momentum-killer early in the Classic. Against opponents like Iowa and UIC, Michigan's last two foes, that wasn’t an issue.

But against powerhouses like No. 2 California and No. 3 Stanford, which have been scoring in the 350-point range, the Wolverines can’t afford any missteps.

“Even if they’re not spectacular scores, for our momentum, we need to nail high bar,” Thompson said. “We just have to keep the momentum up and going, and keep everyone’s heads up.”

Michigan’s lineup will return to its normal form with six of the seven gymnasts who competed at the Feb. 7 Winter Cup in Las Vegas slotting back in, including senior co-captain Phil Goldberg and sophomore Chris Cameron.

For the second week in a row, sophomore Ben Baldus-Strauss and senior Joe Catrambone will compete, as both return from injuries. Catrambone won the high bar title at last year's Classic.

“I feel like it’s definitely going to be a lot closer than people think,” Thompson said. “I think we’ll be right up there with (Stanford and Cal), if not past them.”