No. 2 Men’s Gymnastics Qualifies for National Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/5/2001 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
April 5, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State placed in the Top 3 in Session II of the NCAA National Qualifers of the Men’s Gymnastics Championships to earn a spot in the team finals. Ohio State scored 217.075 to place first. The team finals, as well as the all-around finals, will be at 7 p.m. Friday in St. John Arena.Michigan was second with 216.850 and
Michigan State was third (213.350). Minnesota (213.175), Iowa (209.175) and Stanford (208.875) did not qualify for the team championships.
In the closest race of the qualifiers, Michigan State and Minnesota entered the sixth and final rotation separated by only .025 points. Michigan State captured a 36.500 on vault to hold onto third place and advance to the team finals, while Minnesota’s 36.350 on pommel was not enough to help them overtake the Spartans.
In addition to the team qualifiers, a number of individuals qualified for the championship session Friday, which also includes individual preliminaries. In the all-around, Clay Strother of Minnesota, Andrew Thornton of Iowa and David Durante of Stanford advanced. Individual qualifiers in each event are listed at the bottom of this release.
2001 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championship National Qualifier, Session II April 5, 2001, 7 p.m. St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Team Results 1. Ohio State, 217.075 2. MIchigan, 216.850 3. Michigan State, 213.350 4. Minnesota, 213.175 5. Iowa, 209.175 6. Stanford, 208.875
All-Around Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers 1. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State (55.325) Clay Strother, Minnesota (52.300) Andrew Thornton, Iowa (52.200) David Durante, Stanford (52.000)
Floor Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers 1. Clay Strother, Minnesota (9.600) Dan Gill, Stanford (9.125) Paul Di Palma, William & Mary (9.050) Bill Callahan, Minnesota (8.950)
Pommel Horse Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers 1. Clay Strother, Minnesota (9.700) Antonio Cesar, Iowa (9.250) Bob Goss, Minnesota (9.250) Todd Guilbeau, Minnesota (8.800)
Rings Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers 1. Daren Lynch, Ohio State (9.650) Marshall Erwin, Stanford (9.300) David Johnson, UIC (9.100) Arthur Reshad Garan, Stanford (8.900)
Vault Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers 1. Dan Gill, Stanford (9.350) Eric Steele, Minnesota (9.325) Cameron Schick, Iowa (9.200)
Parallel Bars Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers 1. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State (9.375) Paul O’Leary, Stanford (8.775) Martin Fournier, Nebraska (8.700) Mitch Griffin, Minnesota (8.700)
High Bar Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers 1. Scott Vetere, Michigan (9.350) Shane de Freitas, Iowa (8.850) Mike Turns, William & Mary (8.800) Bill Callahan, Minnesota (8.700)
2001 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics National Qualifiers (Session II)
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Post-Meet Press Conference Quotes
April 5, 2001
Ohio State head coach Miles Avery:
“Oklahoma is ahead of us by just over one point, but I think we can more than make that up tomorrow. We didn’t use our best lineup today. Daren Lynch wasn’t on vault and we didn’t use Jamie Natalie on high bar. I think those two alone could make the difference. We’ll definitely have our best line in tomorrow.”
Michigan head coach Kurt Golder:
“We got off to a good start. Our first four events, we got off to a record-breaking performance. Our goal was to advance and we met that goal. It would have been nice to win this session, but it couldn’t have meant too much. We won the qualifier last year and didn’t win the championship.
(On Oklahoma)
“Oklahoma was on fire. They looked great. They are definitely the team to beat. We can beat them if we have a perfect game. They are so tough because of their depth and their spirit.
(On preparing for Friday)
“I think we’re confident. We’ll eat, rest and get whatever treatment we need to be ready for tomorrow. I don’t think I have to tell them anything to get them motivated.”
(On the 2000 NCAA Championships)
“I think last year we were a little too businesslike. We were too tight. We need to be relaxed and have more fun and play aggressively.”
Michigan State head coach Rick Atkinson:
(On the final rotation)
“We knew we finished on vault, which is good for us. I didn’t expect Minnesota to come on so strong at the end. We thought we could hold any lead on vault, and then the two Minnesota guys rocked their set. Then it was just a waiting game. Going into the rotation, we knew we had to hit. I told our first guy he had to do the vault of his life. He did a backspring layout and he stuck it and you saw how the team reacted. We knew that three more and it’s over.”
(On making the team finals)
“This was our goal all year. In our last year, we wanted to show we were a national powerhouse. We wanted to show we could be a Final Four team like our basketball and hockey teams.”
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