2002 Men’s Gymnastics Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 3, 2002
A Return To The Summit
The Ohio State University men’s gymnastics program is faced with one of the most difficult tasks in sports, defending a national championship. After a 2001 season that saw the Buckeyes take the NCAA and Big Ten crowns, the program now is the biggest target in collegiate gymnastics. With the departure of all two captains from last season, including Nissen-Emery Award winner Jamie Natalie, the Buckeyes must dig deep to find new chemistry and new leaders.
“The underclassmen of last year, including Michael Evans, Raj Bhavsar and Dick Huntwork, should step up and be the leaders of this team,” Miles Avery, OSU head coach, said. “We have always worked under the premise that the more opinions, the better.”
The 2002 Buckeyes
Even with the loss of three seniors, including two national champions, to graduation, there is no lack of depth or talent for Ohio State in 2002. Once again, the foundation of the team will come from a talented core of upperclassmen, led by All-American Raj Bhavsar. Earnest Nelson, a 2000 co-captain, and Mitch Claman lead the seniors into battle. Ben Falkner rounds out the senior class.
Jamie Shepard, a transfer from Michigan State, along with one of the nation’s strongest recruiting classes, could mean several new faces will be scoring points for the Buckeyes this season.
“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 exceptional freshmen as well as a quality gymnast from Michigan State’s program. With the improvements we’ve made over the summer, I think we can make another legitimate run at a title.”
The Buckeyes From Top to Bottom
One of the primary ingredients in a championship season often is strong upperclassman leadership. The 2001 team had it in the form of All-Americans Natalie and Daren Lynch, and former captain Jay Nardelli. In 2002, the senior class doesn’t boast quite as much firepower, but is still a formidable group.
The program will boast four seniors on the roster. Nelson returns as one of the most consistent components of the team, competing primarily on floor exercise, vault, pommel horse and high bar. Claman competed in every meet for the Buckyes last season, including performing on rings at the NCAA championships. Falkner, who posted career highs on rings and high bar last season, completes the senior class. The seniors have the opportunity to become the third consecutive senior class to complete their careers undefeated at home.
The junior class promises to be the strength of the team this season. Four members of the junior class could conceivably close the year as All-Americans. Leading the charge is Bhavsar, who placed second in the all-around at the 2001 NCAA Championships, finishing behind only Natalie, and won the parallel bars competition. Bhavsar earned a spot on the U.S. National Team after placing third in the Winter Cup and finished second on parallel bars against several of the world’s top gymnasts in the Moscow Stars of the World competition. In addition, he was a member of the U.S. team that placed second at the World Championships, the highest ever finish for the team. If he remains healthy, Bhavsar stands ready to replace Natalie as the best collegiate gymnast in the nation.
“Clearly, Raj is one of the best gymnasts in the country,” Avery said. “He was already ahead of most gymnasts last year and the rule changes just made him that much better. Other athletes will close the gap this year, but he should still be one of the top guys in the collegiate ranks.”
The duo of Michael Evans and Dick Huntwork is right on Bhavsar’s tail. Both gymnasts qualified to compete at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships this past summer for spots on the U.S. National Team. Huntwork claimed his second consecutive Most Improved Gymnast Award last season. He earned a trip to the NCAA individual event finals on parallel bars and just missed All-America honors with a seventh-place finish. Ryan Schwartzkopf could find himself near the top of the nation in the pommel horse this season. His personal high in the event last season was a 9.05, but after a summer of hard training, his stock could rise sharply. Matt Smith, a rings specialist, saw his first action as a Buckeye last season and will continue to contribute this year.
A trio of sophomores will challenge the juniors for team honors. Jamey Houle leads a class that surpassed expectations last season. Houle competed in every meet and just missed the Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award. The all-arounder recorded his highest score of 9.100 on high bar and claimed an all-around score of 51.650 during the 2001 Big Ten Championships. Eric Van Sickle could be among the team’s best on pommel horse. He competed in every meet but one last season, recording a season high of 9.100 on pommel horse against Michigan State. Isaac Monicle did not compete last season but looks to contribute in 2002 after putting in a lot of hard work over the summer.
The Rookies
The Buckeyes have turned recruiting into an art form of sorts. The current junior class was widely regarded as the best in the nation and the 2002 freshman class has garnered many comparisons. Randy Monahan (Elizabethtown, Pa./Central Pennsylvania Academy of Gymnastics) becomes the third consecutive Junior Olympic national champion to enter Ohio State. Monahan follows in the tradition of 2000 champion Houle and 1999 champ Bhavsar. Monahan claimed the title after posting an all-around score of 54.150 in the championship.
Freshman teammate Kerry Adderly (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Metro Gymnastics) placed 18th in the J.O. competition, but is widely considered to be one of the top college prospects in the nation. Another member of the freshman class is Cody Trobaugh (Houston, Texas/Houston Gymnastics Academy). Trobaugh will be reunited with Evans, his former club teammate.
“Those three freshmen are extremely talented,” Avery said. “They’ll be fighting over who will contribute the most, which can only help our team. It’ll be fun to work with this much talent.”
Two freshmen gymnasts from the Columbus area, Phil McClellan (Amanda, Ohio/Hocking Valley Gymanstics Center) and Tim Saxton (Pickerington, Ohio/Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center), also will join the Buckeyes this season. Their squad captured the state and regional championships last season.
The Schedule
The Buckeyes once again will face a challenging schedule throughout the 2002 season. Ohio State has the daunting task of facing seven of the nation’s Top 10 opponents.
“As always, we will compete against very tough opponents this year,” Avery said. “It helps the team when it learns to be tough during the regular season. If they have been feeling the pressure of close, tight competitions all year long that will help them to be tough at championship time.
“We travel to Chicago for the Windy City Invitational and then throughout the season we will travel to nationally ranked foes Illinois-Chicago and Nebraska. At home in St. John Arena the Buckeyes will face tough opponents Penn State, Illinois-Champaign, Iowa, Minnesota and Oklahoma, the national runner-up last season.
“Our focus will be the same as last year,” Avery said. “We look to improve every week and every day and every practice in order to be at our very best at the end of the season. We could lose a meet at home this year for the first time since 1991, but as long as we win the big ones at the end, it’s not that much of a concern.”
With their schedule, 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.
Floor Exercise
Floor exercise promises to be one of the strongest events for the Buckeyes this year. The returning starters – Bhavsar, Evans, Huntwork, Houle and Nelson – will be joined by the freshmen to produce a potentially dominant floor exercise team.
“Kerry Adderly is one of the most explosive tumblers in the country,” Avery said. “He could be our best guy on floor, possibly even better than Raj, who is already one of the nation’s best.”
Pommel Horse
Ohio State will boast depth on pommel horse as well. Houle, Van Sickle and Schwartzkopf have improved dramatically over the summer and will complement Bhavsar and Huntwork on the event. Shepard and Monahan also are expected to contribute immediately on pommel horse.
Rings
The departure of Lynch, Natalie and Nardelli leaves several holes in the rings lineup. The event will be one of the largest question marks of the season. One of the holes will be filled by Smith.
“Matt is extremely strong and will be out to prove he can compete for individual titles,” Avery said. “I’m a little concerned about our depth in this event. Raj will do very well and Kerry and Randy are aslo strong on this event.”
Vault
Avery looks to his vaunted freshmen class to help fill out a vault squad that lost Lynch, the 2001 national champion, to graduation. Bhavsar, Huntwork, Evans and Nelson will join the freshmen in this event.
Parallel Bars
Floor exercise and parallel bars could finish the season as the Buckeyes’ strongest events. Bhavsar claimed the NCAA title in the event last season and the team shows outstanding depth.
“This is a challenging event for everyone,” Avery said. “Fortunately, we have several small, strong guys, which makes us well suited for this event. We can count on Raj and Dick to perform and Kerry and Randy and Cody are also exceptional on parallel bars. Add Jamie Sheppard and Jamey Houle to the rotation and I believe we’ll be one of the best teams in the country in the event.”
High Bar
Summer improvements will be easily noticeable in the Buckeye high bar routines. Also overflowing with quality, this event will be one of the strongest for the team.
“Jamey Houle will amaze people this year,” Avery said. “He’ll have one of the best routines in the NCAA. Mike, Earnest and Dick have improved tremendously, Raj is outstanding and the freshmen are very good as well. Jamie Shepard will also contribute on high bar.”
