National champions and Olympians lined the bleachers of Cliff Keen arena on Saturday to celebrate 75 years of Michigan men’s gymnastics. But by the end of the meet, they had something else to celebrate as the Wolverines clinched the Big Ten regular season title.
Led by seniors Adam Wooten and Casey Cummings and juniors Javier Alfonso and Evgeny Siminiuc, Michigan (11-6 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) completed a comeback win against Illinois (10-4, 2-2), winning the meet 411.250-405.550. With such an esteemed crowd in attendance, Michigan coach Yuan Xiao understood the importance of the moment.
“I’m so fortunate for an opportunity like this,” Xiao said. “My job is to make our alumni happy and proud, and to make Michigan proud.”
Even though the night ended in celebration, small mistakes added up early for the Wolverines, as they found themselves down 3.7 points after the first two rotations. Pommel horse is a familiar struggle for Michigan, and the Fighting Illini took full advantage. The small-yet-loud Illinois crowd was right behind them with cheers and chants of their own, along with Illini gymnasts shouting, “I-L-L” and the away fans promptly yelled back “I-N-I.”
But the Wolverines gained momentum on still rings, with Wooten and Alfonso both scoring above a 14.000. However, the Illini had no intention of allowing Michigan back in the fight. Down 3.65 points after three rotations was not ideal for the Wolverines, but the small amount of momentum proved valuable.
“We have this thing where we say we have to stay in our bubble,” Cummings said when asked how Michigan stays competitive in come-from-behind wins like these. “We know the routines toward the end are (strengths) and so we just try to focus on the fact we know we can come back from anything.”
Sticking to the bubble, Michigan took over in the second half of the meet, riding solid performances all the way to the end. Although the vault is not normally a strength for the Wolverines, all five scorers achieved over a 14.250, and the Illinois lead was cut to 2.5 points. The home crowd, sensing a possible comeback, responded to the energy.
Similar to Michigan’s faulty pommel horse rotation, the Illini faced their achilles heel on the parallel bars. Siminiuc topped the event, scoring a tied personal best of 14.750. This routine was the beginning of the end for Illinois, putting the Wolverines in front for good.
“It’s just a testament to the talent and the depth this team has,” Cummings said. “We all have the same mindset. We all act like we’re key guys, so it’s like no one person is more of a Michigan gymnast than the other.”
Topping it all off with an impressive high bar routine, Wooten led the Wolverines with a 14.200. But it was Siminiuc’s clinching routine that put the entire crowd on its feet, as the team finally reaped what it had set out to sow since the beginning of the year — the Big Ten regular season title.
As the team looks ahead toward the Big Ten Championships, defending the regular-season title won’t be easy. With an incredibly competitive conference, Wooten knows what it will take if Michigan wants to come home with another trophy.
“It’s a mental game, right? So what we need to do going into these meets is think about our gymnastics a little bit different each time,” Wooten said. “We are as good as we need to be. Let’s go out and show who we are.”
Now heading to Columbus for the conference championships, the Wolverines need to reciprocate that performance to show everyone who they are if they intend on bringing home the title for the second year in a row.