Courtesy of University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's gymnastics team has earned a No. 6 ranking in the GymInfo Coaches Preseason Poll. Stanford received the top ranking, amassing 10 first-place votes, while defending NCAA champion Oklahoma came in at No. 2 with a pair of first-place votes. Third-ranked Ohio State and seventh-ranked California each garnered a first-place vote as well.

Michigan was also ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll entering the 2008 season. The Wolverines return All-Americans in junior David Chan (Singapore/Hale School), senior/junior Phil Goldberg (Dalton, Ga./McCallie) and sophomore Thomas Kelly (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), who earned honors on the pommel horse, still rings and high bar, respectively. Michigan finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and sixth at the NCAA Championships last season -- the ninth time in 10 years that U-M has placed among the Super Six under the reign of head coach Kurt Golder.

Including U-M and OSU, all six Big Ten teams are ranked among the nation's top 10 -- Illinois (4th), Penn State (5th), Minnesota (8th) and Iowa (9th). Michigan will face both Ohio State and Illinois at the season-opening Windy City Invitational in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 17. The Wolverines will host dual meets against Iowa on Jan. 30 and Illinois on March 14 and will travel to Penn State on Jan. 24 and Ohio State on March 21 for dual-meet competitions. At the Pacific Coast Classic on Feb. 21, the Maize and Blue will compete against top-ranked Stanford and No. 2 Oklahoma.

Michigan will first host its Maize and Blue Intrasquad competition on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena.

2009 GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Stanford (10)
2. Oklahoma (2)
3. Ohio State (1)
4. Illinois
5. Penn State
6. Michigan
7. California (1)
8. Minnesota
9. Iowa
10. Nebraska
11. Temple
12. UIC
13. Air Force
14. William & Mary
15. Navy

• GymInfo Poll

Contact: Hannah Maier, Robby McBurnett (734) 763-4423