The Big Ten men's gymnastics season came to a close at the NCAA Championships, where Michigan claimed the team crown and five out of the six individual titles where claimed by conference student-athletes.
NCAA Champions: Michigan took home the 2013 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championship. The title marked the Wolverines second national championship in four years and their fifth overall. The crown was the third championship by a Big Ten school in the last four years, as Illinois claimed the national title last season. The Wolverines finished with a score of 443.200, defeating second-place Oklahoma by over three points (440.100). Penn State, Iowa and Illinois also competed in the team final, with the Nittany Lions posting a fourth-place finish, the Hawkeyes finishing fifth and the Illini placing sixth. For more on the NCAA Championship click here.
All-Around Athletes: Michigan's Sam Mikulak was crowned the all-around winner at the NCAA Championship. With the title, Mikulak becomes the sixth Big Ten gymnast to win multiple national titles in the event, as he also took home the championship in 2011. Teammate Adrian de los Angeles placed second in the event. For more on the NCAA Championship, click here.
NCAA Individual Success: For conference standouts took home national titles, and combined for five of the six individual titles, at the NCAA Championship. Michigan's Sam Mikulak won the high bar competition for the second consecutive year and earned the parallel bars crown. Illinois' Fred Hartville took home the vault championship, Ohio State's Michael Newburger won the pommel horse competition and Penn State's Trevor Howard placed first in the floor exercise. Click here for more on individuals at the NCAA Championship.
Wolverine Winners: Totaling a team score of 438.900 points, Michigan held of the field at the 2013 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships to take home the team title. The Wolverines claimed their 16th Big Ten title and first since 2009. Michigan's Sam Mikulak was crowned the Big Ten all-around champion for the second time, as he first took the crown in 2011. Read all about the conference championships here.
All the Awards: Michigan's Sam Mikulak was voted Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second time, as he also earned the honor in 2011 and Penn State's Trevor Howard claimed Freshman of the Year accolades. Wolverine head coach Kurt Golder was named Big Ten Coach of the year for the third time and first since winning back-to-back honors in 1999 and 2000. Mikulak was joined on the All-Big Ten first team by Illinois' Fred Hartville and Yoshi Mori, Iowa's Javier Balboa and Broderick Shemansky, Michigan's Stacey Ervin, Syque Caesar and Adrian de los Angeles and Penn State's Felix Aronovich and Craig Hernandez. For more on the awards, click here.
Naming Names: The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) named a pommel horse skill after Michigan's Sam Mikulak. The junior became the first gymnast to complete the skill at an official FIG competition when he performed it during the men's qualification round at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Click here for more on the skill.
Three Big Ten women's rowing teams are ranked in the latest CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll, released on Wednesday. Ohio State leads ranked conference squads, coming in at No. 3. Michigan stays put at No. 13, while Wisconsin jumps two spots to No. 14. Michigan State and Minnesota are receiving votes.
For the complete poll, click here.
Illinois 4, Southern Illinois 2 (8)
Iowa 8, Iowa State 3
Michigan State 3, Eastern Michigan
Northwestern 8, UIC 5
Ohio State 4, Wright State 0
Ohio State 4, Wright State 0
Illinois at Southern Illinois, 5 p.m.
Iowa State at Iowa, 7:30 p.m., BTN.com
Eastern Michigan at Michigan State, 5 p.m., BTN
Northwestern at UIC, 7 p.m.
Wright State at Ohio State (DH), 5 p.m., BTN.com
Southern Illinois at ILLINOIS, 7:05 p.m.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee at IOWA, 6:05 p.m.
Chicago State at NORTHWESTERN, 4 p.m.
The Big Ten is one of three conferences, joining the SEC and Pac-12, with six or more teams in the top 50 of the latest RPI. Nebraska (sixth) climbs four spots this week, while Michigan (12th), Wisconsin (23rd), Minnesota (29th), Iowa (34th) and Northwestern (45th) are also among the top 50.
Four Big Ten teams are receiving votes in the national rankings this week, including two in the top 15. Michigan appears at No. 10 in both the USA Softball and NFCA polls, while Nebraska is 14th in the USA Softball poll and tied for 16th in the NFCA standings. Wisconsin appears at No. 25 in the NFCA rankings and joins Minnesota among the teams also receiving votes in the USA Softball poll.
DePaul at Northwestern, 5 p.m.
Iowa 5, Penn State 0
The University of Iowa softball team used a complete game shutout from senior Chelsea Lyon and a game-high three hits from senior Bradi Wall to blank Penn State, 5-0, in the final contest of a three-game set Sunday at Pearl Field. The game, Iowa's final Big Ten home contest, served as Senior Day. The Hawkeyes honored Ashley Akers, Johnnie Dowling, Lyon, Sam Valentine, Wall, and team manager Cameron Cole following the victory. RECAP
Nebraska 7, Michigan 4
The 16th-ranked Nebraska softball team scored five times in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for a 7-4 victory over No. 9 Michigan on a warm Senior Day at Bowlin Stadium on Sunday. Nebraska, which fell behind 4-0 early, turned the tables on the Wolverines, who scored four times in their final at bat in a 5-3 come-from-behind victory on Saturday. The Huskers scored seven unanswered runs on Sunday to win a conference series over a top-10 opponent for the first time since sweeping a two-game Big 12 series from No. 5 Oklahoma in 2001. RECAP
Ohio State 14, Minnesota 6
The Ohio State softball team tallied a season-high 18 hits in a 14-6 win in six innings against Minnesota Sunday at Buckeye Field. The contest was delayed in the top of the second with the score 3-0 in favor of Ohio State and play resumed after a 72-minute rain delay. Following the stoppage, the Buckeye bats posted four runs in the third, two in the fourth, three in the fifth and two additional runs in the sixth inning to earn the win. An impressive seven different Buckeyes tallied multi-hit performances, while eight different players crossed the plate vs. the Gophers (30-16, 11-6 Big Ten). RECAP
Northwestern 6, Purdue 2
On Senior Day Sunday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field, NU's three graduating players and the rest of the Wildcats earned a 6-2 win over Purdue with a five-run sixth inning on a beautiful sunny Evanston afternoon. Northwestern's sweep was its third of the Big Ten season after also taking three games from Illinois and Penn State earlier in the year. Prior to the game, Northwestern's graduating players Meghan Lamberth, Kristin Scharkey and Lauren Tyndall were honored. RECAP
Illinois 10, Michigan State 0
The Fighting Illini tallied 10 hits, including the first grand of the season, to provide plenty of run support for senior pitcher Pepper Gay, who hurled her 16th career shutout as the Orange and Blue completed the series sweep of Michigan State with a 10-0 victory in six innings. After struggling early in the conference season, the Illini have now won eight-straight games and captured three Big Ten series sweeps. Illinois improves to 19-25 (9-11 Big Ten), while the Spartans drop to 21-23 (7-9 Big Ten). RECAP
The spring football season wrapped up on Saturday with two final spring games, as Iowa and Minnesota were the last two Big Ten schools to conclude spring practice. Recaps for both schools appear below:
IOWA
University of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz likened Saturday's Spring Scrimmage inside Kinnick Stadium to arena football based on the final 61-37 victory by the Hawkeye offense. The spring scrimmage was the culmination of 15 spring practices. All three quarterbacks -- Jake Rudock, Cody Sokol and C.J. Beathard -- split the game action. Ferentz says the trio has progressed this spring and the competition will carry over into fall camp. RECAP
MINNESOTA
With the weather finally cooperating, the Gopher football team took the field at TCF Bank Stadium on a beautiful Saturday afternoon for the 2013 spring game. The Maroon team beat their White team counterparts by a final score of 24-17. The Maroon dominated offensively, outgaining the White Team in passing, rushing and total yards. The Philip Nelson-led Maroon team started out the scrimmage, which drew an announced 8,400 spectators, with a long drive from the 35-yard line that included two fourth down conversions, culminating in a one-yard Donnell Kirkwood touchdown. RECAP
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