Four Buckeyes Earn Academic All-America Honors – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Aug. 3, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Four Ohio State men’s gymnasts received College Gymnastics Association All-America Scholar-Athlete awards and the team was named a National Academic Top 15 Gymnastics Team, the CGA announced this week. Jamie Natalie (Hockessin, Del.) and Daren Lynch (Londonderry, N.H.), who graduated in June, each received the award for the fourth time and Jamey Houle (So., Enfield, Conn.) and Ben Falkner (Sr., Norwell, Mass.) were honored for the first time.
In all, 45 gymnasts were named 2001 All-America Scholar-Athletes by the CGA. In order to qualify, a student-athlete must attain at least a 3.50 grade point average and earn a minimum NCAA gymnastics score of 8.0 during the 2000-01 academic year. Natalie and Lynch are two of just five four-time honorees.
As a team, the squad ranked eighth in the nation with a grade point average of 3.040. Vermont ranked first with a GPA of 3.398, followed by William and Mary (3.333) and Massachusetts (3.234). Iowa was the highest Big Ten team, ranking fifth (3.148), with the Buckeyes second in the conference.
Lynch and Natalie both graduated in June with a degree in exercise science. Natalie will attend medical school at Ohio State, while Lynch is enrolled in the physical therapy program at OSU. Houle is a psycholgy major and Falkner is majoring in journalism. All four Buckeyes were named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes and Lynch, Natalie and Falkner earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. In addition, Lynch and Natalie received prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.
Also helping the Buckeyes to the high team GPA were Raj Bhavsar (Jr., Houston, Texas), Dick Huntwork (Jr., Pickerington, Ohio) and Ryan Schwartzkopf (Jr., Columbus, Ind.), who all earned OSU Scholar-Athlete accolades. In addition to their strong work in the classroom, the Buckeyes had a standout competition season. The squad claimed both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.
2001 College Gymnastics Association Top 15 Gymnastics Teams Team GPA 1. Vermont 3.398 2. William & Mary 3.333 3. Massachusetts 3.234 4. M.I.T 3.213 5. Iowa 3.148 6. Oklahoma 3.111 Springfield 3.111 8. Ohio State 3.040 9. Michigan 2.939 Temple 2.939 11.Navy 2.936 12.Air Force 2.900 13.Illinois 2.845 14.Army 2.793 15.James Madison 2.784
