2000-01 Men’s Gymnastics Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/5/2001 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Looking to Rise to the Top
The Ohio State University men’s gymnastics team has high expectations for the 2001 season. Although the squad finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, a spot most teams would be proud of placing, the Buckeyes’ proud tradition says that was not good enough.
With three All-Americans, one national champion and 10 letterwinners returning, OSU is poised to make a run for its 21st-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships.
Miles Avery, OSU’s fourth year head coach, will use last year, when the Buckeyes finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, to motivate the Buckeyes this season.
“Last year we had a lot of individual accomplishments,” Avery said. “As a team, we didn’t finish as high as we had hoped in the big meets at the end of the season. However, once again we should be in the hunt for the Big Ten and national titles.”
The 2001 Season
If everyone on the roster stays healthy this season, this should be another outstanding year for the Buckeyes. With the added depth of the freshman class and almost all of the 2000 squad returning, Avery will look for his squad to compete for the national title again.
“We are certainly excited for this season,” Avery said. “This team has as much promise as the team from a year ago. We added three talented freshmen and with the improvements the returnees made over the summer we should have the talent to be successful in the big meets at the end of the season.”
From the Top Down
The Buckeyes have a solid base to build on to make a run at qualifying for and then performing well at the NCAA Championships. Last year, the squad ended the season 13-1 and was the runner-up at the Big Ten Championships. Ten letterwinners return from that squad aiming to record even more success this season.
Leading the charge for the Buckeyes will be the senior class. Two returning senior All-Americans, Jamie Natalie (Sr., Hockessin, Del., all-around) and Daren Lynch (Sr., Londonderry, N.H., all-around), will be counted on to lead the squad once again this season. The duo each claimed Big Ten titles last season, with Natalie winning the floor exercise and Lynch earning the vault crown.
Jay Nardelli (Sr., Centreville, Va., all-around), who set four career highs last season, completes the senior class. The seniors have the opportunity to complete their careers undefeated at home as the team has won 12-consecutive meets in St. John Arena.
The junior class also has seen success in its first two seasons at Ohio State. The team is 26-3 over the last two seasons and has not finished lower than third at the Big Ten Championships. Mitch Claman (Jr., La Palma, Calif., all-around), Adam Elliott (Jr., Erlanger, Ky., pommel horse), Ben Falkner (Jr., Norwell, Mass., all-around), Earnest Nelson (Jr., Rowlett, Texas, all-around) and Matt Smith (Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah, rings) comprise the junior class. Claman competed on two events in six meets for the Buckeyes last season. Elliott competed on the pommel horse in every meet, including posting a 9.625 at the NCAA Championships. Nelson performed on four events for the Buckeyes, including high bar routines at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. Falkner appeared in two meets, while Smith, recovering from back surgery, did not compete for the Buckeyes.
The sophomore class had a standout rookie year and will be expected to perform even better this season. After gaining a year of collegiate gymnastics experience, the four-member class has now seen what it takes to succeed in NCAA gymnastics.
Last season, the quartet, who each appeared in every meet for the Buckeyes, was led by Raj Bhavsar (So., Houston, Texas, all-around), who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year, All-Big Ten and All-America honors. Michael Evans (So., Houston, Texas, all-around) was a vault finalist at the NCAA Championships, while Dick Huntwork (So., Pickerington, Ohio, all-around) advanced to the vault finals at the conference championships. Ryan Schwartzkopf (So., Columbus, Ind., pommel horse) recorded the Buckeyes’ team season-high score on vault when he posted a 9.925 in the home quad-meet.
The Buckeyes’ returnees can use the knowledge and experience they have gained to push for even greater success this season. In addition, they can pass on that knowledge to the newest group of Buckeyes.
The Rookies
The Buckeyes followed up the recruiting class from last year, considered the best in the nation, with another strong group of freshmen this season. Jamey Houle (Fr., Enfield, Conn., all-around) claimed his second U.S. Junior Olympic National Championship and placed second in the junior division at the John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships last season. Eric Van Sickle (Fr., Hilliard, Ohio, all-around) is a five-time national qualifier as well as a regional champion. The third member of the class, Isaac Monical (Fr., Rescue, Calif., all-around), competed in the regional and state championships for eight seasons.
The Schedule
The Buckeyes will once again face a challenging schedule throughout the 2001 season. Ohio State has the daunting task of facing seven of its 10 opponents on the road.
“As always, we will compete against very tough opponents this year,” Avery said. “It helps the team be tough when it counts if they have been feeling the pressure of close, tight competitions all year long.
“We travel to Chicago for the Windy City Invitational and then throughout the season we will go to Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, U.C.-Santa Barbara and Oklahoma. Oklahoma has put themselves in the top level of competition with great recruiting.
“Our schedule does allow us to compete against some top competition at home,” Avery said. “We will face defending national champions Penn State in St. John Arena. They were the only team to beat us during the regular season last year, so hopefully we can return the favor.”
The Buckeyes have put themselves in the position to be tested before the Big Ten Championships and NCAA National Championships at the end of the season.
Hosting the NCAA Championships
For only the second time, Ohio State will play host to the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics National Championships. The final meet of the season will be held in historic St. John Arena. Two qualifying sessions of six teams each will be held April 5, 2001, with the team championships April 6 and the individual finals April 7.
“As you look at our schedule, hosting the national championships is the most exciting meet,” Avery said. “Our team loves to compete in St. John Arena. Having our fans cheering for Ohio State, yelling `O-H-I-O’ and `Go Bucks’ adds to the excitement of our team.”
Nissen Candidate
Each year, the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award is presented to the outstanding senior male collegiate gymnast in the nation. This year, Ohio State has one of the top candidates in All-American and national champion Jamie Natalie. Natalie, a U.S. National Team member, spent the offseason competing in national and international competitions and traveling to the Sydney Olympics as the alternate on the U.S. squad.
Three Buckeyes have claimed the award in the program’s history – Mike Racanelli in 1990, Olympian Kip Simons in 1994 and two-time Olympian Blaine Wilson in 1997.
Floor Exercise
This season, floor exercise will be a strong point for the Buckeyes. Leading the squad on floor will be defending Big Ten and national champion Jamie Natalie, the alternate on the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team.
“We had a lot of summer improvements on floor,” Avery said. “Two guys that made the most progress on this event are Huntwork and Nelson. Their added improvements will make our floor routines some of the best in the nation.”
Bhavsar and Evans also will add depth to the floor team.
Pommel Horse
The pommel horse team may be deeper than floor exercise for the Buckeyes. Schwartzkopf, a pommel horse specialist for the Buckeyes, set a career and team season high on the event with a 9.925 last season.
“Our two freshmen could join Ryan and come in and compete right away on horse,” Avery said. “Eric Van Sickle is one of the best in the country on pommel horse after capturing national runner-up and state titles. Jamey Houle swings very well and clean. Natalie, Bhavsar and Elliott each are very strong on horse. There could be a number of other guys fighting for the last positions.”
“We want guys to be competing for spots in the gym,” Avery said. “This allows us to put our best team out on the floor.”
Rings
Another strong event for the Buckeyes will be rings. Natalie, Lynch and Bhavsar return as three of the top competitors on rings in the nation. Natalie earned All-America honors in the event last season.
“Daren is one of the best ring workers in the country and he will continue to be one of the best,” Avery said. “For the first time we may see Matt Smith. He had back surgery last year, but he should return ready to compete.”
Vault
Like floor exercise, OSU has improved on vault. Lynch and Evans return as the top vaulters for the Buckeyes. Lynch is a two-time All-American on the event, placing sixth at the NCAAs last season. Evans was a finalist at the 2000 NCAA Championships.
“We will have one of the most exciting vault teams in the country,” Avery said. “We are doing some of the hardest vaults in the country. The summer improvements have been great on this event. Nelson, Lynch, Evans and Natalie have all stepped up their difficulties on this event. However, our best and most consistent vaulter may end up being Jay Nardelli.”
Parallel Bars
Parallel bars could prove to be the toughest event for the Buckeyes. Two solid performers, Bhavsar, an All-America honoree in the event last season, and Natalie return for the Buckeyes, but the squad is not as deep as the other events.
“Obviously having Raj and Jamie back will help on parallel bars,” Avery said. “Raj is one of the best in the country on this event and Jamie is one of the best in the world. Beyond that, some guys are going to have to step up to make this event as deep as some of the others. We will look at some different combinations on this event, so we can put the best team out there.”
High Bar
High bar once again will be exciting for OSU. Natalie returns as the two-time U.S. Champion at the John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics National Championships. Natalie claimed the high bar title in five of six regular season meets last year.
“Nelson, Claman and Evans also should be in the mix for high bar this season,” Avery said. “Houle also may compete on the high bar – he was the junior national champion on the event. Jay Nardelli returns as one of the best in the country and is out to prove it this year.”
