Men’s Gymnastics Team Ranked Second in Preseason Poll – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Nov. 11, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team is ranked second in the 2003 GymInfo/NCAA Preseason Coaches Poll. Oklahoma, who edged the Buckeyes for the 2002 NCAA title, is ranked No. 1 in the poll. The Sooners claimed seven first-place votes, while OSU, the 2001 NCAA champion, received three.
In all, six Big Ten teams are ranked in the Top 8. The Buckeyes, who have won the last two conference championships, are the highest-ranked team in the league. OSU is followed by No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Penn State, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Iowa and No. 8 Minnesota.
The Buckeyes won the Big Ten team title the last two seasons. They will look to defend their title at home in St. John Arena March 28-29, 2003, when OSU plays host to the Big Ten Championships.
Ohio State again will be led by Raj Bhavsar, who won both the conference and NCAA all-around titles last season and was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and the OSU Male Athlete of the Year. The squad is under the direction of Miles Avery, who was named Big Ten Coach of the Year the last two seasons.
OSU opens the regular season at the Windy City Invitational Jan. 11 in Chicago. To tune up for the 2003 season, the squad will compete in the Mixed Pairs Invitational with the OSU women’s team Sunday, Dec. 8 and the Group Intersquad Friday, Dec. 20, in Columbus.
2003 GymInfo PreSeason Coaches Poll 1. Oklahoma (7) 2. OHIO STATE (3) 3. Illinois 4. Penn State 5. California (3) 6. Michigan (2) 7. Iowa 8. Minnesota 9. Stanford 10. Temple 11. Nebraska 12. William & Mary 13. Illinois-Chicago 14. Army 15. Air Force (#) First place votes
###GO BUCKS!###
