IN THIS ISSUE...

MEET THE FRESHMAN

COMPETITION UPDATES

2011 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

NEWT LOKEN CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Since the completion of the 2011 NCAA season, the Michigan men's gymnastics program is

proud to announce several accomplishments by incoming freshmen, current team

members, and program alumni.

In July of this summer, Mel Santander, three time All-American and member of the

Michigan's 2010 NCAA Championship-winning team, added another accomplishment to his impressive resume, winning the all-around at

the 2011 Visa Qualifier meet in Colorado Springs, CO. Unfortunately, Santander was injured later in the summer and unable to

compete in the Visa Championships.

COMPETITION UPDATE

Finally, rounding out the Michigan's competitors this summer at the Visa Championships were incoming freshman Stacey Ervin, who finished second on floor in the Junior 16-18 division, recently graduated alum and 2010 NCAA all-around champion Chris Cameron, 2007 NCAA All-American Andrew Elkind, who finished 8th on parallel bars, and NCAA All-American Eddie Umphrey. Due to injury Umphrey competed only four events and elected not to compete on the second day of competition, but still hit four for four on Day One.

ADRIAN DE LOS ANGELES

In late September, incoming freshman and reigning JO National and Visa Championships

Level 10 16-18 all-around champion Adrian de los Angeles traveled to Yokohama, Japan with one

other Junior National Team member to compete at the Japan Junior International Invitational. De los Angeles had a strong showing, incorporating

his new piked Bell into his parallel bars routine, and hitting six for six. Following this performance and his strong showing at the Junior Pan-American Championships, de los Angeles was selected to

the US team for the Senior Pan-American Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico taking place

October 24-29th.

Following his unprecedented NCAA championships showing, during which he claimed the Big Ten and NCAA all-around titles as a freshman, Sam Mikulak was invited to compete in the Puerto Rico Cup, along with incoming freshman Adrian de los Angeles. Unfortunately, on his first event of the day, Mikulak fractured both ankles on his floor dismount. Mikulak finished out the competition, but following x-rays and diagnosis was unable to compete in event finals the following day. Due to this injury, Mikulak was also unable to compete at the Visa Championships later in August. Despite his absence from Visa’s, Mikulak was selected onto the Senior National Team.

SAM MIKUL AK

Mid-October finds the Michigan coaching staff happily busy, organizing recruiting trips, preparing the team for the upcoming NCAA season, and representing two different countries at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. Junior Rohan

Sebastian, accompanied by coach Xiao Yuan, is representing Ireland at the 2011 World Championships, his second appearance at a World Championships. Senior

co-captain and last year’s Big Ten Champion on Parallel Bars Syque Caesar, accompanied by coach Geoff Corrigan, is competing at his first World

Championships representing Bangladesh. Together, Sebastian and Caesar make this the third year in a row that a Michigan gymnast has competed at the World

Championships (2009- Sebastian, 2010- Chris Cameron).

2011 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - TOKYO JAPAN

Nick Hunter Paul Rizkalla

The Michigan Men's Gymnastics team is happy to welcome ten freshmen to the team for the 2012 campaign. It is a talented group of gymnasts boasting high skill levels and start values, international experience, promising basics and strong work ethics. The next four years look to be exciting and successful ones. Below is a list of the freshmen, their hometown, area of study, and what they feel is their greatest

gymnastics accomplishment to date.

MEET THE FRESHMAN

From Westfield, NY, Rizkalla’s greatest accomplishment is his being signed to the University of Michigan Men’s Gymnastics team. Academically, he plans to transfer into the School of Engineering and complete his degree there.

From Canfield, OH, Hunter placed 7th all-around at the 2011 JO National Championships. His major is undecided, but he is interested in business.

Mark Panhorst

Adrian de los Angeles

Michael Strathern

Hub Humphrey

Vinnie Sanchez

Stacey Ervin

Reid Swanger Taylor Harrower

From Long Beach, CA, de los Angeles feels his greatest accomplishments to date are his performances on the second days of the 2011 JO National and Visa Championships, which lifted him from a third and fifth place finish on the first days of these respective meets to an all-around championship at both. De los Angeles is currently studying kinesiology with the goal of one day becoming a Physician’s Assistant.

A native of Hanover Park, IL, Panhorst’s greatest accomplishment was his JO team’s placing first at the 2009 JO National Championships. He plans to study Movement Science.

Hailing from Kalamazoo, MI, Humphrey’s greatest accomplishment to date has been his return to gymnastics and qualification for the 2011 JO National Championships, and his walking onto the University of Michigan Men’s gymnastics team. He has chosen no major yet, but is interested in history, geography, and politics.

Hailing from Bartlett, IL, Strathern’s greatest accomplishment to date is his signing with the University of Michigan. He is interested in studying Biology.

A native of Michigan, Ervin’s greatest accomplishments to date have been his back-to-back third place all-around finishes at the 2010 and 2011 JO National Championships and his second place finish on floor in the Junior 16-18 division at the 2011 Visa Championships. He is currently undecided regarding his academic area of study.

From Long Beach, CA, de los Angeles feels his greatest accomplishments to date are his performances on the second days of the 2011 JO National and Visa Championships, which lifted him from a third and fifth place finish on the first days of these respective meets to an all-around championship at both. De los Angeles is currently studying kinesiology with the goal of one day becoming a Physician’s Assistant.

From Dublin, OH, Harrower’s greatest accomplishments are his recognition as three-time academic All-American, and his return from a broken wrist to win the 2010 Ohio all-around state title. He is currently undecided in his area of study but is interested in Environmental Science and Dentistry.

A Bedford, NY native, Sanchez feels his greatest accomplishment is his capture of two events titles at the 2011 Region 7 Championships. He is currently interested in Pre-Med.

Newt Loken(February 27, 1919 – June 28, 2011)

Despite all of the success in competition,this was a sad summer for Michigan Men's Gymnastics, as Newt Loken, the father of this program, passed away. As an athlete, Loken won the 1941 NCAA Highbar Title and was the 1942 NCAA All-Around Champion. Had it not been for the cancellation of the 1944 Olympics due to World War II, he most likely would have been an Olympian, and in fact in 2002 he was named to the honorary 1944 US Olympic Team. As an educator he received his undergrad from the University of Minnesota, his graduate degree from the University of Michigan, and taught as a Kinesiology Professor at Michigan until his retirement in 1983. He took on the job of Michigan Men’s Gymnastics Head Coach in 1948 and during his tenure he led the Wolverines to twelve Big Ten Team Titles, and four NCAA Team Titles (two in Trampoline, two in Men’s Gymnastics), and helped produce twenty individual NCAA national champions. Finally as a true Michigan Man, Loken remained a fixture and dedicated presence in the program, first in the IM Building Training Facility, then in the Coliseum, and always in Cliff Keen Arena. Every Monday the team would look forward to his presence at workout, his stories and his laugh, and every home meet for sixty-one years they would look forward to the spirit, the history, and the loyalty he radiated as a coach and then as a spectator in his front-row seat. Published author, cheerleader, cheerleading coach, family man, serviceman in the Navy; there is simply no way to communicate all that he accomplished and all whom he positively influenced. He was featured in Life Magazine, and he taught my grandfather “The Art of Self-Defense” as a Phys-Ed class at U of M. His achievements ran the gamut, his influence was felt nationwide, and his optimism is still infectious. He stands as the consummate example of the Michigan Man; an example for all to emulate.

Newt Loken Memorial

On September 30, over 200 friends, family-members, and alumni flocked to Ann Arbor to celebrate Loken’s life, to tell his stories, and to honor his memory. After being present at the open practice session where team alumni congregated and exchanged memories, and then at the reception in the Jack Roth Stadium Club, I feel completely confident saying that all who met Newt were better for it. Loken’s accomplishments and lessons will live on, and his spirit will always bring a smile to our faces. Thank you for everything, Newt! Forever Go Blue!

What Are They Up To Now?

-The Alumni Update

Michigan is happy to announce the continuation of several of its alumni's gymnastics careers. Andrew Elkind, class of 2007, continues to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. Ian Makowske, 2011 Big Ten Highbar Champion and 2010-11 NCAA Highbar Runner-up is now competing for Mikey's Way, a Connecticut-based non-profit group dedicated to bringing pediatric cancer patients with electronic games. For more information and to support Makowske and Team Mikey's Way, visit: http://www.mikeysway.org/team.html. Eddie Umphrey and Mel Santander, also continue their training at the University of Michigan.

The Double Back Times is also happy to announce the engagement of Justin Toman, captain of the 1999 NCAA Championship Team, 1999 and 2000 NCAA Parallel Bar Champion, and Michigan’s only Nissen-Emery Award Recipient, to Dr. Jennifer Livaudais. Congratulations Justin and Jennifer, we wish you a beautiful wedding come May 2012 and all the happiness afterward!

The Michigan men's gymnastics community would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to Ralph Rosso. After competing four years at Michigan, earning Big Ten and NCAA Championship finals appearances on Rings, and helping the team to the 2009 Big Ten Team Title and NCAA Runner-Up finish, Rosso stayed in Ann Arbor and worked as volunteer assistant coach. Rosso accepted the position of assistant coach at the University of Arkansas Women's Gymnastics Team. While there, he is taking classes toward his master's degree in Sports Management. Rosso dedicated countless hours, always encouraging a pride in Michigan and the opportunity to wear the Block M, and was an invaluable competitor for his team, help to his fellow coaches, and friend to his teammates. Thank you, Ralph! Wherever you go, Go Blue!

We are also proud to announce that Thomas Kelley, Class of 2011, 2009 Big Ten all-around champion, four-time NCAA All-American, and team captain, was recently hired by the Michigan Athletic Department. Kelley is the Marketing Coordinator for the newly created M-PACT program that focuses on preparing student-athletes for life after sports. For more informationand a chance to get involved visit the letterwinnersmclub.com website or shoot Thomas an email (thkelley@umich.edu).

Finally, Michigan Men’s Gymnastics is also happy to announce to the hiring of Ian Makowske as the new Program Administrative Assistant.

Go Blue!

Please find below our upcoming season. We hope to see you at our home competitions at Cliff Keen and our away meets as we chase our program's fifth NCAA Team Title. Please keep up with our team's season at mgoblue.com and

stay tuned for our new Twitter account! Also, in an attempt to improve communication and to keep everyone connected to the Michigan Men’s

Gymnastics program, we would like to expand our email contacts list. Please send your own email address and the email address of any teammates, friends or

family who would like to receive updates and future newsletters in digital form, to Ian Makowske (imakowsk@umich.edu). Thank you for your continued connection to

and support of the University of Michigan Men's Gymnastics team.

2011-12 Michigan Men's Gymnastics Schedule

Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result

Sat., Dec. 10 Maize & Blue Intrasquad ex Ann Arbor, Mich. 7:00 p.m. ETSat., Jan. 14 Windy City Invitational Chicago, Ill. 7:00 p.m. CTSat., Jan. 21 vs. Penn State * Ann Arbor, Mich. 7:00 p.m. ETSat., Jan. 28 Illinois & Oklahoma Champaign, Ill. 5:00 p.m. CTThu., Feb. 2 Winter Cup Challenge Las Vegas, Nev. All DaySat., Feb. 4 Winter Cup Challenge Las Vegas, Nev. All DaySat., Feb. 18 vs. Ohio State, SUNY Brockport * Ann Arbor, Mich. 7:00 p.m. ETSat., Feb. 25 Stanford & Japan Palo Alto, Calif. 7:00 p.m. PTSat., Mar. 10 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla. 7:00 p.m. CTSat., Mar. 17 Illinois-Chicago Ann Arbor, Mich. 7:00 p.m. ETFri., Apr. 6 Big Ten Championships - Team & All-Around Finals * Iowa City, Iowa 7:00 p.m. CTSat., Apr. 7 Big Ten Championships - Team & All-Around Finals * Iowa City, Iowa 7:00 p.m. CTThu., Apr. 19 NCAA Quali�er Norman, Okla. 1 or 7 p.m. CTFri., Apr. 20 NCAA Team & All Around Finals Norman, Okla. 7:00 p.m. CTSat., Apr. 21 NCAA Event Finals Norman, Okla. 7:00 p.m. CT

Mail This Sheet To:

Go Blue!

Name:_______________________________________Address:_____________________________________City:________________ State:____ Zip:__________Telephone:________________ Fax:_____________

Help Us to Reduce Our Paper Usage and Expenses by Receiving The Double Back TImes via E-Mail!Email:____________________

Membership: $35 My Special Contribution:_______

Membership Application

Thank You For Your Support of Michigan Gymnastics!

Go Blue!

Mail This Sheet To:

Men’s Gymnastics1000 S State StAnn Arbor, MI 48109