Men’s Gymnastics Goes Up Against the Nation’s Best – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/10/2000 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Feb. 10, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio — After upsetting No. 1 Michigan and defeating No. 3 Illinois last weekend, the Buckeyes take a week away from dual meet action. Five Ohio State team members will compete at the Winter Cup Challenge beginning Friday in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Winter Cup Challenge
At least six Buckeyes will compete against the best gymnasts in the nation Friday and Saturday at the Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Pepsi AllSport Arena. Jay Nardelli, Jamie Natalie and the OSU freshman trio of Raj Bhavsar, Michael Evans and Dick Huntwork will be in the event, along with Buckeye alumnus and current U.S. National Team member Doug Stibel. Blaine Wilson, the four-time defending U.S. national champion, has not yet decided if he will compete in the meet. Session I will be held Friday at 3:30 p.m., followed by Session II later that day at 8 p.m. The final session will be Saturday at 8 p.m. The top 36 all-around scores from Friday advance to the all-around finals on Saturday. The top three gymnasts placing in the top 10 that are not current members of the U.S. Senior National Team will be added to that squad’s roster.
Facing Tough Competition
The Winter Cup Challenge will include over 80 gymnasts, including members of the U.S. National Team. Michigan leads the way with eight collegiate gymnasts entered in the competition, followed by Ohio State with five. Other schools with gymnasts competing include UC Berkeley, Brigham Young, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan State, Temple, Penn State, Minnesota, Washington, Stanford and UCLA.
Competing with the Seniors
For Evans and Huntwork, the Winter Cup Challenge will be their first opportunity to compete in the senior division at a USA Gymnastics competition. Both freshman are current members of the U.S. Junior Elite National Team. Bhavsar competed at the senior level in this past summer’s John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships before he had even entered college, a feat not even Wilson, a six-time NCAA champion and a 10-time All-American, was able to pull off.
Last Year at the Winter Cup Challenge
Jamie Natalie was the only current Buckeye to compete at the Winter Cup Challenge last year. He was the highest-placing collegiate athlete, as he finished seventh and earned a spot on the U.S. National Team.
Ohio State’s Coach
Miles Avery is in 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.
Buckeyes Still Second
In the coaches poll released by GymInfo (Feb. 7), the Buckeyes are ranked second, behind only Michigan. Oklahoma follows in the third spot, with Penn State fourth and Illinois in fifth.
In the rankings based on scores, the Buckeyes are ranked in the top three in every event except one. The squad leads the nation on the high bar, is second in team score and parallel bars, is tied for second on the vault, ranks third on the floor exercise and the still rings and is eighth on the pommel horse. The rankings are based on an average of each team’s top two scores, which can include only one home score.
Buckeyes Rank in the Top 10
Jamie Natalie continues to lead the nation in the parallel bars and the all-around, while ranking second in the high bar, fourth (tied) on the floor exercise and fifth on the still rings.
Other Buckeyes also rank in the Top 10 in the country. Michael Morgan is third in the floor exercise and fifth in the all-around, while Raj Bhavsar is fourth on the still rings and ranks eighth on both the pommel horse and the parallel bars. Daren Lynch moved from third place into a tie for second on the vault.
A Comeback Victory
No. 2 Ohio State put together a team season-high performance on its last event, the high bar, to overcome and defeat No. 1 ranked Michigan, 229.950-229.900, Saturday night in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes’ score was their highest of the season. OSU and UM also defeated Illinois (225.350) in the meet. Ohio State entered the last rotation down .075 points to the Wolverines. The squad was able to pull out the win with a team score of 38.875 on its last event, topping UM’s score of 38.750 on its last rotation, the parallel bars, to claim the win. Jamie Natalie, OSU’s last competitor, clinched the victory for the Buckeyes with a 9.90 on the high bar. Michael Morgan helped the Buckeyes to victory by posting a 9.750 in the event.
Standout Performances vs. UM and UI
Natalie and Morgan tied for the all-around title with a score of 57.475, a career high for Morgan. Morgan claimed the floor exercise title (9.825), while Natalie tied for first on the parallel bars (9.925), won the high bar and was second on the still rings with a 9.800. Raj Bhavsar set career highs in two events, scoring 9.775 on the parallel bars and a 9.550 on the high bar. Daren Lynch was second on the vault with a 9.700.
Victorious at Home – Again
The Buckeyes extended their home winning streak to 11 meets with their win over Michigan and Illinois. Ohio State has not lost at home since 1994.
Big Ten Honors for the Buckeyes Already
The Buckeyes have claimed Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors every week they have been eligible this season. Natalie has been honored twice this season (Jan. 19 and Jan .26), winning the award following his all-around performances at the Windy City Invitational and at Michigan State. Bhavsar won the following week (Feb. 2) after leading the Buckeyes to a win over Oklahoma, as he claimed two meet titles and set season and career highs in all five events he competed in. Morgan was the most recent Buckeye to be honored as he won this week’s award (Feb. 9). He put together a career high in the all-around to lead Ohio State to wins over Michigan and Illinois.
Scoring Well as a Team
Against Michigan and Illinois, the Buckeyes were able to turn in season best performances on the parallel bars, the high bar and overall. The team’s season-high scores on the floor exercise and the pommel horse, both recorded against Oklahoma, have already topped last season’s high scores on those events.
The Streak
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 in men’s gymnastics.
Improving in Earnest
Sophomore Earnest Nelson has improved his score on the high bar almost every time out this season. He began the season scoring a 9.45 and improved to a 9.55 the next week before struggling against Oklahoma and receiving an 8.650. He put together his career-high performance when the Buckeyes needed it most, scoring a 9.675 to help OSU come back to win over Michigan and Illinois.
Getting Mitch Involved
After not competing for the Buckeyes during his first two years at Ohio State, Mitch Claman has been entered in every meet this season. He has competed on both the still rings and the high bar, scoring a career-best 9.350 on the rings against Oklahoma and a 9.575 on the high bar to open the season at the Windy City Invitational.
More Career Highs
After recording career highs on every event he competed in against Oklahoma, Bhavsar topped his scores on both the parallel bars (9.775) and the high bar (9.550) at home last weekend.
Lynch on the Vault
Daren Lynch, who was an All-American on the vault last season, looks to be returning to that same form this year. He currently is tied for second in the country in the event with a two-score average of 9.750. He set his career high earlier this season, scoring an 9.800 against Michigan State.
Strong on the Still Rings
Jamie Natalie has scored a 9.800 on the still rings in three of the Buckeyes’ four meets this season. Prior to this year, his career-high was a 9.650. He ranks fifth in the nation with a 9.800 average.
Even Stronger on the Bars
Natalie is also having a standout year on both the parallel bars and the high bar. He ranks first in the nation on the parallel bars and is No. 2 on the high bar. Natalie recorded his season high and tied his career high with a 9.925 on the high bar at the Windy City Invitational, while he has scored a 9.925 on the parallel bars twice this season. His career high on the event is 9.950, which also stands as the school record.
A Tough Conference
All seven of the schools in the Big Ten are ranked in the top 15 in the coaches poll. Michigan is No. 1, followed by Ohio State, second, Penn State, fourth, Illinois, fifth, Iowa, sixth, Michigan State, 11th and Minnesota, 12th.
Returning Home
After this weekend’s competition at the Winter Cup Challenge, the Buckeyes will host their last home meet of the season Feb. 19. The squad will face Big Ten foes No. 6 Iowa and No. 12 Minnesota, as well as No. 7 Brigham Young, at 7 p.m. in St. John Arena.
The 2000 Captains
Daren Lynch and Jay Nardelli were chosen as captains for this year’s squad in a vote by the team.
Lynch earned All-America honors last season after placing fifth on the vault at the NCAA Championships. He has been an academic All-American, an academic all-Big Ten selection and an OSU scholar-athlete honoree.
Nardelli is an OSU scholar-athlete and has been an academic all-Big Ten honoree. He set career highs on the pommel horse, still rings and all-around last season at the NCAA regional.
