University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Gymnastics To Compete At NCAA Championships
March 27, 2000 | Men's Gymnastics
March 27, 2000
AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts men's gymnastics team will head to Iowa City, Iowa, this week, to participate in the NCAA Championships from March 30-April 1, which will be held on the campus of the University of Iowa. No. 1 Michigan heads the list of 12 teams that will be competing this week. Other squads will include Oklahoma, California, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State, Illinois, Nebraska, Brigham Young and Stanford.
The Minutemen will compete in the qualifying rounds on March 30 at 1 p.m., and if UMass finishes as one of the top six teams in the meet, it will advance into the team and all-around finals the following day on March 31 at 7 p.m. Individual finals will take place on April 1 at 2 p.m.
UMass is coming off winning its second consecutive ECAC Championship on March 18. Senior All-American Jeff LaVallee (Stafford Springs, Conn.) was crowned the all-around champion for the second time in as many years with a season-high 58.10 in the meet. He also captured the parallel bars crown with a 9.675. Freshman Justin Hammar (Woodbury, Minn.) won the pommel horse title with a 9.675.
The Minutemen are hoping to feed off of their recent success.
"Going into NCAAs after winning the ECAC Championship, we know now that we have a good chance of doing well and competing with the top teams in the country," junior J.J. Hershey (Ephrata, Pa.) says.
LaVallee, who is a candidate for the Nissen-Emery award, which goes to the top senior gymnast in the country, is no stranger to the NCAA Championships. He has competed as an individual the past two seasons, garnering All-America honors four times last year in the all-around (57.425), floor exercise (9.70), vault (9.70) and still rings (9.7125).
He is fortunate to have his teammates with him this time around.
"I am very excited because usually I go out there as an individual," LaVallee says. "It just isn't the same without your teammates."
The Nissen-Emery Award winner will be announced on March 29 during a press conference held at 11:30 a.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
