NCAA men’s gymnastics Week 2 recap: Penn State’s huge weekend, an Illini upset, and Stanford’s season opener

In Week 2 of the 2023 NCAA men’s gymnastics season, the Nittany Lions put up a 407.6 for the nation’s second-best score by a wide margin, a performance that proved again that Penn State is one of the country’s most capable teams. 

Stanford opened its season with a strong 410.5 to assume its place at the top of the national rankings. Illinois had an upset win at Windy City, and the West Point Open featured an intense contest for third place.

Read on for a recap of the weekend’s top meets. 

Penn State could be the best team in the Big Ten

Penn State always had the potential. Now, the team appears ready to prove it’s one of the country’s best programs.

The Nittany Lions, who ranked No. 5 entering the season, were less than three points behind Stanford and about seven points ahead of their nearest Big Ten rival last weekend. Their 407.6 was the team’s highest score since 2019.

Matt Cormier had a banner performance to claim the all-around crown with an 81.95. Michael Artlip, freshman Ian Raubal, and Michael Jaroh were also key to Penn State’s team effort, and Josh Karnes looked on his way to a breakout season. Raubal added event titles the following evening on parallel bars (13.9) and high bar (13.65).

Penn State could have easily finished higher, too. The team’s 63.75 on high bar was nearly 2.5 points lower than their score on the event the weekend prior. It’s not a stretch to imagine Penn State scoring 409 or above sometime early this season. 

The meet was proof that Penn State’s talented junior class has matured into a group of formidable competitors. That Cormier, Jaroh, Artlip, and others seem to be hitting their stride at once bodes well for the team’s postseason prospects.

Altogether, Penn State looks like the best team in the Big Ten at the moment and on track to challenge for a podium spot at NCAAs. We’ll get another look at the squad on Saturday at the Navy Open. 

Nebraska had a solid day to finish second with a 399.3. The meet also saw good competition for places three through five, with Navy and Army within five points and Springfield close behind.

The Huskers’ Chris Hiser (13.7) and James Friedman (13.3) finished first and second during event finals on rings. Taylor Christopulos (14.85) and Liam Doherty-Herwitz (14.7) went one-two on vault. Travis Wong was second on parallel bars (13.65), and Donte McKinney was runner-up on high bar (13.25).

Navy’s Connor Van Loo took the floor title with a 14.25. Army’s Maddox Pabellon won horse with a 14.35. 

Illinois tops Michigan for upset win at Windy City

The Fighting Illini also outperformed last weekend, beating Big Ten rival Michigan in a statement win for first-year head coach Daniel Ribero. 

Illinois’ experienced senior class led the effort on Saturday. Seniors Evan Manivong, David Pochinka and Michael Fletcher each had strong performances. Connor McCool claimed the floor title (14.3) — with a back 3.5 as his penultimate pass — and Ian Skirkey was runner-up on horse (13.75) despite a fall. 

The Illini were eager to prove they were more competitive than their No. 6 preseason ranking indicated, and their win will have Michigan hungry to rebound in the coming weeks. 

“They came to play today and earned a huge victory over some of the best teams in the country,” Ribero said of his squad in an post-meet interview with Illinois athletics. 

Illinois stood out on horse and vault. The Illini were more than 4.5 points better than Michigan on pommel and roughly 3.5 points better on vault. Amari Sewell won the latter event with a huge Kas 1.5 for a 14.7. Fletcher placed third on vault with his own clean Kas (14.55).

Ethan Boder was second on rings (13.65) with a routine that stood apart from the rest of the rotation. The event was a weak point for the Illini on Saturday but one they should be able to improve on. 

Illinois’ win raised questions about Michigan’s expected dominance in the Big Ten. As GymNow previously reported, the Wolverines are dealing with injuries to some of their top gymnasts. This weekend made it clear that Michigan needs Paul Juda healthy if it want to vie for an NCAA title. 

Most of Michigan’s struggles came on horse and vault. Their pommel score on Saturday was almost five points lower than what they put up on the event at their season opener. Their vault score of 67.85 was the weakest of the meet and close to three points lower than the previous weekend’s. 

Still, the mistakes Michigan suffered on those two events were somewhat flukey and very fixable. 

The Wolverines were forced to count two scores in the 11s on horse. Fred Richard had an early mistake and a fall on his dismount in an otherwise clean horse set. 

On vault, Landen Blixt’s hand slipped on his Yurchenko entry, resulting in a balk and a score of 11.2. David Wolma’s 14.7 to tie for a win on vault ended the rotation on a high note, though. 

Lais Najjar and Evgeny Siminiuc went one-two on parallel bars with scores of 14.2 and 13.95, respectively. Adam Wooten and Steven Lukasik went one-two themselves on high bar, scoring 14.1 and 13.9, respectively. Chris Read won rings with a 13.75. 

Mistakes aside, it’s still clear Michigan has the talent to be one of the best teams in the country. They’ll get another chance to prove themselves on Saturday against Oklahoma, Stanford, and others at the Rocky Mountain Open.

Ohio State was only about a point behind Michigan but suffered a rough high bar rotation, counting two 11s and scoring a 62.25. The Buckeyes’ Parker Thackston won horse with a 13.8 to lead a strong rotation that also featured a clean Luke Smigliani routine that earned him third (13.5). Caden Spencer was runner-up on floor with a 14.05 and third place on parallel bars (13.95)

Stanford reclaims its top spot

Stanford opened its season with a 410.5 for the nation’s best score so far — and while counting a 61.9 on horse, which would have been the team’s weakest score last season by almost three points. 

Riley Loos and Taylor Burkhart had huge meets, going one-two in the all-around with scores of 82.55 and 82.4, respectively. Jeremy Bischoff was close behind with an all-around total of 80.8.

Stanford put up the nation’s highest team scores so far on rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar. Freshman Asher Hong had an impressive college debut despite mistakes on pommel horse and high bar: He won floor with a 14.35, was runner-up on rings (14.8), and won parallel bars (14.55). Hong suffered two falls on both horse and high bar that cost him a chance at the all-around title. 

Loos also took first on rings with a 14.85, and Bischoff won high bar with a 14.0. 

Cal had a strong, steady meet until high bar, where the team scored a 60.7 and had to count three 11s. The Bears’ Noah Sano and Will Lavanakul went first and second on pommel, scoring 13.95 and 13.9, respectively. Cal also took top two on vault, with Jasper Smith-Gordon and Jelani Sweet earning scores of 14.6 and 14.45, respectively.