Men’s Gymnastics Ready to Begin Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/1/1999 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Dec. 1, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team has a tune up for the regular season with the mixed pairs exhibition meet on Friday in St. John Arena. The format features both the men’s and women’s gymnastics teams. %^$
%^$Buckeye Newcomers
%^$With three newcomers with national competition experience, head coach Miles Avery has brought the best recruiting class in the country to Columbus this season. Raj Bhavsar, from Houston, Texas, was the 1997 and ’98 Junior National champion, while Michael Evans, from Houston, Texas, and Dick Huntwork, from Pickerington, Ohio, are both 1999 U.S. Junior National Team members. Ryan Schwartzkopf, from Columbus, Ind., will be a pommel horse specialist for the Buckeyes. %^$
%^$The Coach
%^$Miles Avery is entering his third season as the head coach of the Buckeyes. In just his second season at the helm, he led OSU to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships. Before being named head coach, Avery had been an assistant coach at OSU for nine years. In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, Avery has also been on the coaching staff for many international competitions, including the 1998 Goodwill Games, the 1996 Olympic Games and the 1994 World Championship.%^$
%^$A World Traveler
%^$Freshman Michael Evans was one of six members of the U.S. Junior National Team chosen to represent the United States at an international competition in Kiev, Ukraine. He was selected based on his performance at a national team training camp in November. Evans will be competing in the Ukraine from Dec. 5 through Dec. 15. %^$
%^$”This is a great opportunity for Michael to represent both Ohio State and the U.S. in an international event,” head coach Miles Avery said.%^$
%^$Hosting Champions
%^$After making historic St. John Arena its permanent home last season, the men’s gymnastics team will have the honor of hosting the 2001 NCAA Championships in the facility. The 13,276-seat venue will give many Columbus residents the opportunity to see quality NCAA men’s gymnastics.%^$
%^$Record-Setters
%^$The Buckeyes have qualified for the NCAA Championships 19 consecutive years, a streak that more than quadruples that of any other NCAA Division I university.%^$
%^$Welcome Back
%^$After missing all of last season because of a wrist injury, Michael Morgan will be competing for the Buckeyes once again. Morgan earned All-America and all-Big Ten honors as a junior. He was 10th in the all-around at the NCAA Championships and was second on the pommel horse and third in the all-around at the conference championships. %^$
%^$Another OSU-Olympic Connection
%^$Former OSU head coach Peter Kormann was recently named the head coach of the U.S. men’s gymnastics team for the 2000 Olympic Games. Kormann, an Olympic bronze medalist in 1976, coached the Buckeyes from 1989-1986. He led the Buckeyes to the NCAA title in 1996.%^$
%^$Academic Standouts
%^$The Buckeyes were ranked eighth by the College Gymnastics Association in its National Academic Top 20 men’s gymnastics teams for 1999. The squad had a combined team grade point average of 3.034. Leading the way for the Buckeyes academically were Mike Canales, Tim Elsner, Daren Lynch, Jay Nardelli, Jamie Natalie and Judd Shaffer, who each earned academic all-Big Ten honors. In addition to the players listed about, Adam Elliott, Ben Falkner, Earnest Nelson and Matt Smith assisted the group effort by receiving OSU scholar-athlete accolades.%^$
%^$Did you know?
%^$Five current Buckeyes were coached by former OSU gymnasts prior to coming to Ohio State:Jamie Natalie was coached by Thad Abbott (1993) at Prestige Gymnastics in Delaware, Earnest Nelson by Jim Knopp (90-93) of Flippers in Texas, Matthew Smith by Jason Mazzurco (91-94) at USA Gymnastics World in Utah, Ben Falkner by Peter Bastien (91-94) at the Ellis School of Gymnastics in Massachusetts and Dick Huntwork by Mike Serra (1988) at Hocking Valley Gymnastics in Ohio.%^$
