Men’s Gymnasts Qualify for International Competition – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
April 13, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State men’s gymnasts and U.S. Senior National Tem members Jamie Natalie (Sr., Hockessin, Del.) and Raj Bhavsar (So., Houston, Texas) will represent the United States at international competitions in the coming months.
Natalie and Bhavsar qualified for the 2001 World University Games by claiming the Top 2 spots, respectively, at the NCAA Championships April 6 in Columbus, Ohio. The competition will be held in Beijing, China, Aug. 22-Sept. 1. Ohio State head coach Miles Avery will serve as a coach for the squad.
Bhavsar will be one of just two U.S. gymnasts competing at a World Cup event in Moscow, April 28-29.
“In Moscow, it will just be myself, [U.S. National Team member] Steve McCain and one of the coaches from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado,” Bhavsar said. “It’s not an all-around meet, so I’ll just be doing pommel horse, rings and parallel bars. This is an opportunity for me to get out there and experience the international scene, including international judges.
“Going to the World University Games is something I’ve thought about during the season,” Bhavsar said. “It’s something Jamie and I were both shooting for. We feel like we’ve accomplished that mission, but we still want to go out there and show Ohio State means business.”
“It’s a great honor to be able to represent the United States in an international meet,” Natalie said.”I just want to go out and show what I can do.”
The Buckeyes ended the season by winning both the Big Ten and NCAA titles. Natalie won the all-around title and earned All-America honors in three events (all-around, floor exercise, high bar). Bhavsar was second in the all-around, claimed the parallel bar title and also earned All-America accolades on vault with a fourth-place finish.
ESPN will air the 2001 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships at 2:30 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, April 28.
