Championship Time is Here For Men’s Gymnastics – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
March 14, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio — After placing third at the Big Ten Championships last season, the No. 2 Buckeyes will look to win their first conference title since 1997. Ohio State is 13-1 overall this season and has a 10-1 mark against conference opponents.
Last Year at the Big Tens
The Buckeyes placed third at the 1999 Big Ten Championships behind eventual NCAA Champion Michigan and Iowa. OSU recorded a score of 229.250, while the Wolverines scored 230.275 and the Hawkeyes finished just ahead of the Buckeyes with 229.475. The Buckeyes claimed two individual event titles, as Tim Elsner placed first on the floor exercise and Doug Stibel won on the high bar. Stibel placed fourth in the all-around, while Jamie Natalie was fifth. Elsner, Stibel and Natalie all earned all-Big Ten honors.
The Buckeyes at the Big Tens
Ohio State has claimed seven Big Ten Titles, including four in the 1990s. The squad won consecutive titles in both 1993-94 and in 1996-97. Individually, 24 Buckeyes have combined to win 46 Big Ten event championships. Blaine Wilson leads the way with 11 titles, while Drew Durbin ranks second with five. Since 1983, the Buckeyes have finished lower than third at the conference championship once (4th-1986).
Regular Season Wrap-Up
The Buckeyes went 13-1 in the dual meet season, including defeating 12-straight opponents. Ohio State began the season with a win at the Windy City Invitational, topping six nationally ranked teams. The squad posted wins in two dual meets, a tri-meet and a quad meet, suffering itsonly loss at Penn State to end the regular season. The Buckeyes kept their home winning streak alive with two victories in St. John Arena this season.
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. Regular Season Wrap-Up
The Buckeyes went 13-1 in the dual meet season, including defeating 12-straight opponents. Ohio State began the season with a win at the Windy City Invitational, topping six nationally ranked teams. The squad posted wins in two dual meets, a tri-meet and a quad meet, suffering itsonly loss at Penn State to end the regular season. The Buckeyes kept their home winning streak alive with two victories in St. John Arena this season.
Who Goes to the NCAAs
The top nine teams in addition to the conference champions from the Big Ten, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the top 12 all-around competitors who are not members of a selected team and the top 12 individuals per event who are not members of a selected team or have not already been selected in the all-around will compete in the national qualifying meet on Thursday, March 30. No more than 12 competitors may represent any institution.
How to Get There
Teams that do not win their conference title will be selected based on their national qualification averages. These scores will be computed as follows: select the highest home meet score and the two highest away meet scores. Replace the highest of these three scores with the championship meet score and average these three scores.
Event-By-Event
The Buckeyes have performed well on every event this year, including standout performances on the high bar and the floor exercise. The squad scored a 39.000 on the high bar in the home quad meet for their high event score of the season. The team has recorded a 38.900 on the floor exercise (1/28) and a 38.800 on both the pommel horse (Feb. 19) and the parallel bars (Feb. 5). So far this season the Buckeyes have topped three of six team high scores from last season.
Morgan Nominated for Honor
Michael Morgan was named as one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award. The honor is given annually to the outstanding senior male collegiate gymnast in the nation. The award will be presented at a pre-meet press conference held March 29 in Iowa City, Iowa before the NCAA Championships. Morgan was a member of the 1996 national championship team and earned All-America and all-Big Ten honors as a junior in 1998. After missing last season with a wrist injury, he has returned to form this season. He currently ranks seventh nationally in the floor exercise, fifth (tied) in the vault and 18th in the all-around. Morgan earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors earlier this year after helping the Buckeyes to their comeback win over Michigan and Illinois with a then-career high in the all-around.
OSU and the Nissen Award
Three Buckeyes have claimed the Nissen-Emery award in the program’s history – Mike Racanelli in 1990, Kip Simons in 1994 and Blaine Wilson in 1997.
Leading the Way
Jamie Natalie claimed at least one event title in every meet this season. He won on the high bar in five out of six meets and won both the all-around and on the parallel bars three times each. In addition, he claimed two floor exercise titles and won the still rings at Michigan State.
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. 4, Iowa, No. 5, Illinois, No. 7, Michigan State, No. 9 and Minnesota, No. 10.
Academic Honoree
Daren Lynch was one of 185 undergraduate students selected to attend the President’s Salute to Undergraduate Academic Achievement, put on by the University Honors and Scholars Center. Lynch, a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete, an academic all-Big Ten honoree and a College Gymnastics Association Academic All-America Scholar-Athlete, was nominated by the exercise science faculty in the College of Education for `Excellence in Academic Achievement’. The students chosen, mostly juniors and seniors, are scholars as demonstrated by their performance, curriculum and related experiences. Each area decides what criteria to use to select their students, as factors include GPA, research projects, special internships and unique academic contributions to the college.
Buckeyes Rank in the Top 10
Jamie Natalie leads the nation in the high bar and ranks second on the parallel bars. He is also fifth in the all-around, sixth (tied) on the still rings and 12th (tied) on the floor exercise.
Other Buckeyes also rank in the Top 15 in the country. Daren Lynch is second on the vault, while Michael Morgan is fifth (tied) on the vault and seventh on the floor exercise. Raj Bhavsar ranks fourth on the still rings and sixth on the parallel bars.
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.
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.
Setting the Pace
Natalie has recorded OSU’s high score this season on three 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. His score of 9.875 on the floor exercise against Penn State topped Morgan’s 9.825 (two times). Schwartzkopf posted the team high score on the pommel horse (9.825) while Bhavsar has scored 9.850 on the still rings twice this season to lead the squad. Lynch is tops on vault with a 9.875.
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 second in the country on the event with a two-score average of 9.750. He set his career high in the Buckeyes’ last dual meet, scoring a 9.875 at Penn State. That score stands as OSU’s top score this season on the event.
One of the Best on Bars
Natalie is having a standout year on both the parallel bars and the high bar. He ranks first in the nation on the high bar and is No. 2 on the parallel bars. 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 in the quad meet. 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.
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.
