When members of the Michigan men’s gymnastics team travel to Las Vegas for the Winter Cup Invitational this weekend, they will be competing with the best gymnasts in the nation for a limited amount of space on the national team.

This is because national team members, like senior Chris Cameron — who have already competed for team USA — do not have to qualify again.

Last year the Wolverines had six gymnasts compete, and only three of them returned — Cameron and fellow seniors Thomas Kelley and Ian Makowske. This time around, freshmen Sam Mikulak and Michael Myler and redshirt junior Adam Hamers will be competing along with the three returning Wolverines.

“It’s a little bit of a different dynamic,” Cameron said. “It’s different because we don’t have the old guys on the team; we’re all the old guys. And then we’ve got the younger guys that are now new.”

Mel Santander, who helped lead Michigan to an NCAA championship last year in his senior season, will also be competing.

“We’ve got some alumni going, which is also going to be new,” Cameron said. “(Santander), who graduated last year, is going to take a shot at making the team.”

For the freshmen, this will be the first national competition at which they will have competed for Michigan. Although both freshmen have competed at junior Olympics in the past, this senior-level competition presents new challenges.

“I think for me (the difference) will be the overall atmosphere,” Myler said. “Back at the gym I came from, I didn’t really have a team to support me during the meet. Just having these guys is a huge difference.”

Last season Makowske took fourth place on the high-bar at this meet. He is hoping to expand on that with a new high-bar routine.

“I recently just got a new skill on my high bar routine cleared by the NCAA,” Makowske said. “It’s exciting. It will be interesting to see what the judges will do on a larger scale outside the NCAA.”

As Makowske said that, Cameron interrupted him and said, "He invented it."

This skill has never been done before, and because it is still in the preliminary stages, there is not even a name for it.

In terms of the team, this meet offers a few opportunities for the Wolverines. First, it allows Michigan to show what it can do on the national level.

“It’s a great opportunity to put a uniform on and get Michigan out there performing and showing well,” Kelley said. “It’s also a good opportunity for us to step onto a bigger stage, which is ultimately where we want to be at the end of the year.”

Secondly, it grants those Wolverines who are not competing, a much-needed break.

“It’s great for the team because they get a good two weeks off,” Kelley said. “We’ve been a little injured and sick recently, so everybody who is not going to the meet will get some time to step back.”

Lastly, this is a great opportunity for Michigan to recruit young gymnasts.

The junior national meet is also held at the same location in Las Vegas, so high school gymnasts get a chance to watch the elite compete.

“The best way to go recruit is to go out there and show what you can do,” Kelley said. “People who have future aspirations to go to the next level want to see a college program that has guys at these USA meets.”