Men’s Gymnastics Faces Penn State in Last Dual Meet of Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Feb. 23, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeyes close their regular season with a dual meet at No. 3 Penn State on Saturday. The meet will be co-ed, as the OSU women’s gymnastics team will face off against the PSU women as well. Ohio State is undefeated (13-0) this season and holds the No. 2 ranking in the country.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 227.00-224.850 victory over Illinois on Saturday. They are ranked No. 3 in the coaches poll and are also third in the rankings based on scores. The Lions are ranked No. 2 nationally on the rings, No. 4 on the high bar and No. 5 on the parallel bars. Jose Palacios ranks second in the country, behind OSU’s Jamie Natalie, in the all-around with a 57.175 average. Brandon Stefaniak leads the team on the pommel horse, as he has recorded the squad’s top score (9.825) three times this season and ranks No. 9 in the nation. Chris Lakeman is second nationally on the still rings with an average of 9.900, while Adam Benas is tied for third on the high bar (9.875). Last season Penn State finished third in the Big Ten and in the NCAA East Regional before recording a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
Penn State’s Coach
Randy Jepson is in his eighth season at the helm for the Nittany Lions. He has served on the coaching staff since 1983 and was appointed head coach July 6, 1992. Throughout Jepson’s coaching career, Penn State student-athletes have earned All-America honors 36 times and claimed seven NCAA titles. As a collegiate student-athlete, Jepson lettered three years at the University of Oregon and was an NCAA finalist on rings his sophomore year. He transferred to Penn State in 1982, when Oregon dropped its gymnastics program. In his one season of competition as a Nittany Lion, Jepson served as captain and won All-America honors on rings.
The Series
Ohio State leads the series between the squads, 14-10. Last season the Buckeyes upset then No. 1-ranked Penn State, 230.950-228.050, in Columbus. The Buckeyes’ Last Time Out
Ohio State used a team season-high score to remain undefeated and beat three ranked teams Saturday night in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes won the meet with a score of 230.725, followed by No. 7 Iowa (228.700), No. 6 Brigham Young (226.375) and No. 11 Minnesota (221.075).
Posting Season Highs
The Buckeyes posted team season highs in three events in the quad meet, in addition to a season-high team score. The squad had standout performances in the pommel horse (38.800), the vault (38.750) and the horizontal bar (39.000).
Morgan’s Last Home Meet
Senior Michael Morgan shined in his last home meet for the Buckeyes, as he led the squad with a career-high in the all-around (57.625) against BYU, Iowa and Minnesota. He placed third in the all-around, was second on the floor exercise (9.775) and tied for second on the vault (9.700).
Huntwork Stands Out
Dick Huntwork had a strong meet against BYU, Iowa and Minnesota, as he claimed his first event win with a career-high 9.750 on the vault. He also recorded a personal-best 9.700 on the floor exercise to place third and scored an 8.900 in his first collegiate competition on the still rings.
Nearing the Championships
The dual meet at Penn State marks the last regular season competition for the Buckeyes. The Big Ten Tournament will be March 17-18 in East Lansing, Mich., followed by the NCAA Championships March 30-April 1 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Natalie Finishes First – Again
Jamie Natalie has claimed at least one event title in every dual meet this season. He extended the streak with a win on the high bar in the Buckeyes’ quad meet.
Standout on Pommel Horse
Freshman Ryan Schwartzkopf, a pommel horse specialist for the Buckeyes, set a career high on the event with a 9.925 in the quad meet. He finished third in the competition, as he topped his former career-best of 9.400 with the Buckeyes’ high score this season.
Good Recovery
After falling on the parallel bars in the quad meet, Natalie came back to tie his career high (9.925) on the high bar, his next event. He claimed the high bar title in the meet.
Winners at Home
With the quad meet win over BYU, Iowa and Minnesota, the Buckeyes extended their home winning streak to 13 meets. The Buckeyes have not lost at home since 1994.
Buckeyes Second in the Polls
In the coaches poll released by GymInfo (Feb. 21), the Buckeyes fell to No. 2 after Michigan defeated Massachusetts with a score of 231.125 and regained the top spot. Penn State follows in the third spot, with Oklahoma fourth and Iowa fifth. In the rankings based on two-score average, the Buckeyes rank second. They lead the nation in both the high bar and the vault and are tied for first on the floor exercise. The squad is second on the parallel bars and ranks third on both the pommel horse and the still rings.
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 Rank in the Top 10
Jamie Natalie leads the national in both the parallel bars and the all-around and ranks second on the high bar. He is also tied for fifth on the floor exercise and ranks sixth on the still rings. Other Buckeyes also rank in the Top 10 in the country. Michael Morgan is fourth in the floor exercise and ninth in the all-around, while Daren Lynch is tied for No. 3 in the vault. Raj Bhavsar ranks fifth on the still rings, is tied for eighth on the parallel bars and is 10th on the pommel horse.
Big Ten Honors Already
The Buckeyes claimed Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors for five-consecutive weeks this season. Natalie was honored three times, (Jan. 19, Jan . 26 and Feb. 16) after his performances at the Windy City Invitational, Michigan State and the Winter Cup Challenge. Bhavsar won 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 honored (Feb. 9) after he put together a career high in the all-around to lead Ohio State to wins over Michigan and Illinois.
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 on the High Bar
Sophomore Earnest Nelson has improved his score on the high bar almost every time out this season. He has improved from a 9.45 to start the season to setting his career-high with a 9.775 in the home quad meet. Prior to that score, he put together a standout performance when the Buckeyes needed it most, scoring a 9.675 to help OSU come back to win over Michigan and Illinois (Feb. 19).
Standing Out on Vault
Daren Lynch, who was an All-American on the vault last season, is returning to that same form this year. He currently is tied for third in the country in the event with a two-score average of 9.750. He set his career high earlier this season, scoring a 9.800 against Michigan State. That score stands as OSU’s top score this season on the event.
Staying at the Top
The Buckeyes have not been ranked lower than third this season. They were ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll and have spent two weeks at No. 1 since then. The squad was ranked No. 2 for two other weeks and has fallen to No. 3 only one time this season.
Setting the Pace
Natalie has recorded OSU’s high score this season on two events as well as the all-around. His 9.925 (two times) is tops on the parallel bars in addition to the high bar, while his 58.175 is the best all-around mark a Buckeye has scored this season. Morgan’s 9.825 against Michigan and Illinois is the highest score on floor exercise a Buckeye has recorded, while Schwartzkopf posted the team high score on the pommel horse. Bhavsar has scored 9.850 on the still rings twice this season to lead the squad, while Lynch is tops on vault with a 9.800.
One of the Best on 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. He has twice tied his career-high on the high bar this season, scoring a 9.925 at the Windy City Invitational and at home against Iowa, Minnesota and BYU. On the parallel bars, Natalie has scored 9.925 twice this season as well. His career high on the event is 9.950, which also stands as the school record.
The Big Ten is Tough
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, No. 2, Penn State, No. 3, Iowa, No. 5, Illinois, No. 6, Michigan State, No. 10 and Minnesota, No. 11.
GymInfo Coaches Poll (2/21/00)
1. Michigan 2. Ohio State 3. Penn State 4. Oklahoma 5. Iowa 6. Illinois 7. California 8. Brigham Young 9. Nebraska 10. Michigan State 11. Minnesota 12. Stanford 13. Massachusetts 14. Illinois-Chicago 15. Temple 16. Navy 17. Air Force 18. William & Mary 19. Army 20. Santa Barbara
Ohio State in the GymInfo National Team Rankings (2/21/00)
(Based on two-score average)
Team, 2nd, 229.412 High Bar, 1st, 38.675 Vault, 1st, 38.600 Floor Exercise, 1st (tied), 38.662 Parallel Bars, 2nd, 38.762 Pommel Horse, 3rd, 38.725 Still Rings, 3rd, 38.400
Buckeyes in the GymInfo National Individual Rankings (2/21/00)
(Based on two-score average)
Floor Exercise 4. Michael Morgan (9.812) 5t. Jamie Natalie (9.775) 16t. Michael Evans (9.675) Dick Huntwork (9.675)
Pommel Horse 10. Raj Bhavsar (9.800) 19t. Michael Morgan (9.700) Jamie Natalie (9.700)
Still Rings 5. Raj Bhavsar (9.850) 6. Jamie Natalie (9.800)
Vault 3t. Daren Lynch (9.750) 14. Michael Morgan (9.650) 15. Dick Huntwork (9.625) 19t. Jay Nardelli (9.600)
Parallel Bars 1. Jamie Natalie (9.925) 8t. Raj Bhavsar (9.750) 17t. Daren Lynch (9.575) Jay Nardelli (9.575)
High Bar 2. Jamie Natalie (9.925) 12. Earnest Nelson (9.662) 19. Michael Morgan (9.575)
All-Around 1. Jamie Natalie (57.825) 9. Michael Morgan (56.537) 18. Raj Bhavsar (55.775) 15. Jay Nardelli (55.700)
–GO BUCKS!–
