2014 Windy City Invite College Session

Final-Rotation Comeback Lifts Wolverines to Windy City Title

Final-Rotation Comeback Lifts Wolverines to Windy City Title

Jan 19, 2014 by Jennifer Teitell
Final-Rotation Comeback Lifts Wolverines to Windy City Title

Watch Routines from Windy City Invite

Top-ranked Michigan made a final-rotation comeback -- trailing by .70 heading into the sixth rotation -- and scored a 74.95 on rings to capture the 44th Windy City Invite title Saturday (Jan. 18) at the UIC Physical Education Building with a team score of 437.500

The 2014 regular-season lidlifter saw U-M get off to a hot start with a 74.35 on vault, led by fifth-year senior Syque Caesar (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Lincoln Park Academy) with a 15.10 and sophomore Adrian de los Angeles (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) with a 15.10 for a team tally of 74.35 to take a two-point lead over the second-place Ohio State Buckeyes.

On rotation two, U-M notched a 73.850 on parallel bars, with de los Angeles scoring a 15.15 to tie for the event title, while junior Nick Hunter (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) stuck his routine with a 15.10 to take third. The event title is the second of de los Angeles' career in the event.

The third rotation came on high bar, where Hunter paced the Wolverines with a 14.75, accompanied by a 14.60 from Caesar as U-M compiled a 71.40. The Maize and Blue was then led on floor with a 14.80 by de los Angeles, who took third, as well as a pair of 14.75s -- from freshmen Tristian Perez-Rivera (Caguas, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) and Anthony Stefanelli (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East). However, the Wolverines fell into third place in the meet for the first time after scoring a 71.65 as a team and trailed Ohio State (292.250-292.150).

Sitting in third place heading into the fifth rotation, U-M notched a 71.30 on horse to overtake second place, as senior co-captain Matt Freeman (Canton, Mich./Plymouth) tallied a 14.75, followed by a 14.45 from senior Dylan James (Valencia, Calif./William S. Hart)

Trailing by .70 heading into the final rotation, U-M mounted a huge comeback with a 74.95 on rings, with senior Jordan Gaarenstroom (Laguna Hills, Calif./Halstrom) taking third on the event with a 15.45, while classmate Alex Bubnov (Fanwood, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) followed with a 15.40 as U-M jumped Illinois and won the meet by a 437.500-436.050 margin.

RESULTS

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