Michigan Tops No. 8 Army, No. 13 Springfield Behind Season-High Score – University of Michigan Athletics

Site: Springfield, Mass. (Blake Arena)
Scores: #7 Michigan 318.050, #8 Army 307.050, #13 Springfield College 299.550
Records: U-M (4-1), Army (3-5), Springfield (1-8)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 25 — at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 2 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men’s gymnastics team got back to its winning ways, earning a season-high score of 318.050 to defeat No. 8 Army (307.050) and host No. 13 Springfield College (299.550) in a tri-meet at Blake Arena.

The Wolverines took five event titles, sweeping the podium on high bar and floor exercise. Carson Eshleman continued his breakout debut season, earning a pair of titles on the parallel bars (13.250) and still rings (14.100). Fred Richard returned to the lineup for the first time this season, earning the vault and high bar titles.

How it Happened

Still Rings
U-M opened the meet with Robert Noll leading off the rotation and posting a score of 13.200. Eshleman earned a season-high score of 14.100 on his way to the event title, with Rithik Puri also seeing a season-high score (13.500) to finish second.

Floor Exercise
Syam Buradagunta and Jake Islam led off, each scoring a 13.300 to tie for second. Charlie Larson took the event title with a score of 14.050, improving by 0.400 points from his debut performance at the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 18).

Pommel Horse
Junior Zach Granados made his season debut to open the rotation, scoring a 13.200 to tie for third. Richard was U-M’s top scorer on the apparatus with a 13.750, closing out the event. Army’s Maddox Pabellon won the event title with a 14.000. Through the first three rotations, the Wolverines led with a score of 158.550.

High Bar
The Maize and Blue swept the podium, with Noll once again leading off the rotation and finishing second (13.400). Eshleman finished third with a score of 13.350 while Richard earned his first event title of the day with a score of 13.850. Noll, Eshleman, and Evgeny Siminiuc (12.300) each earned a stick bonus on the event.

Vault
Michigan’s strongest event of the day came on vault, scoring 54.100 and putting two Wolverines on the podium. Islam led off the event and earned a third-place finish, scoring a season-high 13.700. Richard closed the rotation with a 14.000, earning a stick bonus on his way to an event title.

Parallel Bars
Two Wolverines took the event title on the final rotation, with Eshleman and Kyle Walchuk each scoring a 13.250. Solen Chiodi finished fourth (13.150), just 0.050 points behind third-place finisher, Army’s Conor Heary.

Up Next

Michigan will stay on the road, heading to State College, Pa., to open its Big Ten schedule at Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 4 p.m.