The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2025 P aul Juda eyed the vault appa- ratus with intense focus, im- placable even with the 2025 men's gymnastics national champi- onship hanging in the balance. Michi- gan entered the final event trailing No. 1-ranked Oklahoma by a minuscule 0.537 points, and the U-M grad's final vault would write the ending. Juda pounded down the padded pathway to glory, threw himself into a twisting, tumbling flight, seeking to stick the landing. He didn't — not quite. Juda planted both feet, then stepped out slightly with his right, producing agonizing moments of an- ticipation for himself, his teammates and the expectant crowd at Crisler Center, which hosted the champion- ships. It wasn't the perfect vault, but it proved the perfect result. When Juda's score of 13.966 went up on the board, the Wolverines exploded in joy, with more than enough energy remaining to leap, exult and pummel each other, celebrating the program's first national champion- ship since 2014. The final scores of the top three read: Michigan, 332.224; Stan- ford 332.061; Oklahoma 327.891. The index fingers rose again. No. 1. Michigan. "I'm an emotional guy," Juda com- mented to The Michigan Daily afterward. "To be standing up there for vault be- fore you go and hear the loudest 'Let's Go Blue' just taking over the entire crowd is impossible. It's the best feeling in the world." That feeling wouldn't have been pos- sible without Juda's teammate and fel- low Olympian Fred Richard, a junior who earned the all-around national title with a score of 84.264, ahead of Juda's second-place 82.164. Richard led a pack of seven Wolverines who racked up 17 All-America distinctions, six of them by the junior. Juda captured the parallel bars individual national championship with his season-high score of 14.200. Adding to the ecstasy, Juda did stick the landing when he dropped to one knee af- terward and proposed to girlfriend Reyna Guggino (a grad student on Michigan's women's gymnastics team) afterward. She made it a championship night all around, with a yes. On the final vault itself, Juda noted: "I didn't know if it was going to be enough. I was really worried. I didn't even know how close it was, because we weren't keeping track. I went out of bounds, and I was like, 'If that's going to be it, that's going to haunt me for the rest of my life.'" It won't. Instead, they'll all cherish a championship for the rest of their lives. * * * Hours earlier, an estimated 40,000- 45,000 fans gathered inside Michigan Stadium, many with one purpose. Scru- tinize Michigan's spring football game to determine if the No. 1 recruit in the nation, right now, constitutes the very best of Tom Brady, Jim Harbaugh, Chad Henne, Denard Robinson and J.J. McCar- thy combined. Freshman quarterback Bryce Under- wood is not that. Nor should he be ex- pected to be, as a rookie drawing his first collegiate snaps. Make no mistake, he's gifted. Big frame, big arm, mobile and fiercely dedicated to getting better. But he'll enjoy much better days in a Michigan uniform. Underwood went 12-for-26 passing for 187 yards — 88 of them on the final play of the scrimmage, off a flea-flicker throw to junior tight end Jalen Hoffman. The freshman QB also tossed an intercep- tion when his receiver went one way and he threw another. Underwood re- covered his own fumble at one point, in his Blue team's 17-0 win. He could well earn the starting job in Michigan's Aug. 30 opener against New Mexico. But head coach Sherrone Moore knew what he was doing when he acquired grad quarterback Mikey Keene (out all spring with an injury, but back for the fall) through the transfer portal. Michigan could also seek ad- ditional QB depth in the spring portal. The Wolverines will feature a fierce defense, one of the best in the nation. Like last year, the offense will make or break this team's biggest goals. They'll feature many more weapons, but readi- ness for September and beyond is every- thing. * * * Like Moore, Michigan men's basketball head coach Dusty May has his own de- signs on a national title. He's not waiting around to get after it. He thoroughly enjoyed getting Michi- gan to 27 victories, a Big Ten Tournament championship and a Sweet 16 in Year 1. But for May and Michigan, that's not enough. He once again went out and domi- nated the transfer portal, pulling in the No. 1-ranked portal class of 2025. Former North Carolina point guard Elliot Cadeau, erstwhile Illinois power forward Morez Johnson Jr., No. 1 portal power forward Yaxel Lendeborg from UAB and 7-foot-3 Aday Mara, fresh from UCLA, make a for- midable addition to incoming Mr. Bas- ketball combo guard Trey McKenney and small forward Winters Grady. Lendeborg could escape to the NBA, but either way, May isn't slowing this train. "It's not like I feel pressure to make a Fi- nal Four," May said recently, on the 'Zach Gelb Show.' "I believe we're going to. I believe we're going to play for national championships." ❏ WOLVERINE WATCH ❱ JOHN BORTON A Natty In Hand, Plans For More Grad student Paul Juda's final vault was just enough to cata- pult the Michigan men's gymnastics team to the 2025 NCAA championship on April 19. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Senior writer John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @JB_Wolverine.