Buckeye Athletics Well Represented In The National Polls – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | General
April 11, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio– Throughout the 2000-01 academic year, the Ohio State athletics program has found itself listed in many of the national polls. This spring, six of OSU’s 12 programs can be found in the national Top 25 in its respective sport, and for the year, 23 of OSU’s varsity teams finished their season or currently hold a spot in the national rankings.
“We are making progress,” Andy Geiger, Athletics Director for OSU, said. “Our goal is to win a Sears (Directors’) Cup and clearly we have made great progress. I have seen improvement in our teams pretty much across the board. I am very encouraged with our success, both recent and in the past.”
The Sears Directors’ Cup, awarded annually since the 1993-94 academic year, is presented to the institution that accumulates the highest total of points in the year. Points are awarded to schools based on the performance of the 20 pre-selected men’s and women’s sports. The sports included are baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, football, field hockey, fencing, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, rifle, skiing, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s water polo and wrestling.
In the seven years of the Cup’s existence, the Buckeyes best finish came in the 1996-97 campaign when they tied the USC Trojans for eighth place. OSU has never been outside of the Top 25. The Buckeyes were 23d in both 1993-94 and 1997-98. OSU is currently 11th but not all sports in the winter season have been accounted for, including the 100 points earned by the men’s gymnastics team, the 2001 NCAA National Champions. The winter total will be released April 24.
Men’s gymnastics and synchronized swimming, a national champion for the 21st time in the 25 year history of the event, lead all OSU teams in the national polls with the No. 1 spot. The Buckeye pistol team finished close behind as they were the second-place finisher at the national tournament. Fencing, the eighth-place finisher in the national tournament this year, and women’s ice hockey, the WCHA tournament runner-up, ended the year in the No. 8 spot in the nation. The women’s ice hockey team finished just its second year of competition this year.
For the teams in season, the women’s rowing team is No. 7 in the US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll while women’s golf and men’s volleyball round out the teams in the Top 15 with ranks of No. 13 and No. 14, respectively. Baseball is No. 22, men’s tennis is No. 24 and men’s lacrosse is No. 25.
OSU also has individual competitors receiving national recognition. Three men’s gymnasts finished the year with national championships. Jamie Natalie (Sr., Hockissen, Del./Prestige) was first in the all-around, Daren Lynch (Sr., Londonderry, N.H./Gym Ken Gymnastics) was first in the vault and Raj Bhavsar (So., Houton, Tex./Cypress Academy) was first in the parallel bars. Also claiming a national championship was the pistol team’s Paul Zelenak (Sr., New Milford, Conn./New Milford) in the three-gun aggregate and the women’s track team’s Donica Merriman (Sr., Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison), first in the 60-meter hurdles at the indoor championships. Wrestler Tommy Rowlands (Fr., Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Ready) finished as the national runner-up in the heavyweight division while men’s track and field star Andrew Pierce (Sr., Yellow Springs, Ohio/Yellow Springs) was second in the 400-meter race in the indoor national championships.
OSU Nat. Rank Team Rank Poll(s) Used 1. Synchro Swimming #1 at Nationals MGymnastics #1 at Nationals (#2 in final GymInfo poll) 3. Pistol #2 at Nationals (Paul Zelenak #1 in 3-gun) 4. WRowing #7 USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Assoc. 5. Fencing #8 at Nationals WIce Hockey #8 USCHO.com, USAToday/American Hockey Mag. 7. WGolf #13 MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings 8. MVolleyball #14 AVCA coaches’ poll MCross Country #14 at Nationals 10. Field Hockey #15 National Field Hockey Coaches’ Assoc. WVolleyball #15 USA Today/AVCA coaches’ poll 12. Wrestling #16 Intermat.com, NWCA/TheMat.com coaches poll 13. WGymnastics #17 GymInfo WIndoor Track #17 at Nationals 15. MSoccer #18 NSCAA (#20 in Soccer America) 16. Baseball #22 Collegiate Baseball 17. MLacrosse #25 Brine/360Lacrosse.com 18. MBasketball #26 Associated Press MSwimming #26 at Nationals 20. WTennis #27 ITA/Wingspanbank.com 21. MTennis #28 ITA/Wingspanbank.com Football #28 ESPN/USAToday (#29 AP) MIndoor Track #28 at Nationals
Bold indicates team is in season.
Sears Directors’ Cup Standings: Fall: 29th with 114 points National Points Finish Earned MCross Country 14 44 MSoccer 17 20 WVolleyball 9 50
Winter: 11th with 340 points (as of March 22) National Points Finish Earned WSmimming 30 38 WTrack & Field 17 67 MTrack & Field 28 53 Wrestling 16 68
Sears Director’s Cup Standings (as of March 22) Big Ten Schools only: 2. Wisconsin 506.5 8. Michigan 357.5 10. Indiana 341.0 11. Ohio State 340.0 17. Penn State 289.5 20. Minnesota 270.5 32. Illinois 224.0 45. Purdue 185.5 51. Michigan State 160.5 75. Iowa 117.5 153. Northwestern 32.5
