Men’s Gymnasts Plays Host to First Meet of The Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Feb. 12, 2002
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About the Meet
The Buckeyes will face off against No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Illinois at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, in St. John Arena. It marks the Buckeyes’ first competition at home since they won the national championship in St. John Arena nearly 10 months ago.
The Storyline
The Buckeyes have not lost a home meet since 1991 when Oklahoma won a dual meet March 2 284.150-281.50.
According to Avery
Buckeye head coach Miles Avery uses the regular season to prepare his team for postseason competition and does not make winning the main focus. However, he knows his team, especially the seniors, does not want to lose at home.
“We are doing all that we can for the end of the season but our guys are Buckeyes and competitors and they want to win,” Avery said.
“These seniors have never lost a home meet and they don’t want to lose one now.”
The Scores
Currently the Buckeyes have the third best road score in the country, posting a 213.850 at their dual meet with Illinois-Chicago Feb. 2.
However OSU is looking still up at the Sooners (214.400) and Illini (213.950), who have the top two road scores in the country.
Will He or Won’t He?
After competing in the Winter Cup Challenge this past weekend, Raj Bhavsar could make his first appearance for the Buckeyes this season Friday night. OSU head coach Miles Avery said that he has yet to decide, but Bhavsar and his teammates’ desire to continue dominance at home may be a factor.
“The team wants to take care of home in the pride of competition,” Avery said.
“Raj (Bhavsar) could compete if he is ready.”
Winter Cup Challenge
Ohio State sent eight gymnasts to compete in the Winter Cup Challenge with five competing in the all-around competition. OSU junior Dick Huntwork was the highest finisher for the Buckeyes as he tied for 16th (out of 67 all-around competitors) with a score of 50.100. In all, 79 gymnasts competed in the meet.
Junior Raj Bhavsar, already a member of the U.S. National Team, only competed in vault and parallel bars. Bhavsar finished the qualifying round with the best score in parallel bars, 9.225, but faltered in the event round final as he finished sixth. Huntwork finished fifth in the parallel bar final (8.200) after finishing sixth in the preliminaries with an 8.750. Michael Evans had a strong showing on floor, tying for 12th with a score of 8.700.
The top two finishers not already on the U.S. Nationl Team earned a spot on the squad. Todd Thornton (Cheveron HGA) and Paul Hamm (Swiss Turners Gymnastics) finished first and second in the all-around competition with scores of 53.850 and 53.550, respectively. Daniel Furney (third) and Cody Moore (fourth) earned the open spots on the national team.
At The Helm
Miles Avery, the 2001 National Coach of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year, returns for his fifth season at the helm of the Buckeyes.
Avery was an assistant coach for the Buckeyes for nine seasons before he was named head coach in 1998. In his tenure, the Buckeyes have extended their streak of NCAA appearances to 21.
Scouting Oklahoma
The Sooners have had a successful season thus far. Oklahoma has won every team competition it has competed in, as well as having the highest score in the nation this season (216.275).
Junior Daniel Furney, who earned one of the final spots on the U.S. National Team at the Winter Cup Challenge, has the second highest all-around (53.237) the country. Fellow junior Josh Landis has posted the highest score on pommel horse (9.525)
Sophomore Jock Stevens has the highest score in the nation in floor exercise (9.575) and vault (9.550).
Last Time vs. Oklahoma
The last time these squads met was in the finals of the 2001 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships. OSU defeated Oklahoma 218.125-217.775.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois enters the competition coming off a 207.900-204.200 victory over Illinois-Chicago Feb. 9. The Illini have a very balanced attack with at least one gymnast ranked in the Top 10 nationally in every event.
Sophomore Bob Rogers had two first place finishes against UIC, which included a career best 9.550 in high bar.
Last Time vs. Illinois
These squads met earlier this season at the Windy City Invitational (Jan.12). OSU finished fourth out of the six teams competing (203.325) while Illinois finished second to No. 4 Iowa with a 207.175.
Buckeyes Help U.S. Win Silver
Ohio State men’s gymnast Raj Bhavsar (Jr., Houston, Texas) was part of the U.S. team that earned the silver medal at the 2001 World Gymnastics Championships in Ghent, Belgium, Oct. 31. It is the first silver medal ever won by the United States. Ohio State head coach Miles Avery is an assistant coach for the U.S. squad.
Belarus won the gold medal with a score of 169.622, followed by the U.S. with a total of 166.845. Ukraine was third (165.483), followed by France (165.283). Defending Olympic champion China (165.26) was fifth.
The last time the United States won a medal at the world championships was in 1979, when the squad earned bronze in Fort Worth, Texas.
The U.S. team included Bhavsar, Paul Hamm, Stephen McCain, Brett McClure, Sean Townsend and Guard Young. In all, teams from 40 nations competed in the event, which included a qualification round and the finals.
Bhavsar placed 21st in the all-around qualifier (out of 268 gymnasts), posting a score of 53.836. He did not compete in the all-around finals.
“This feels absolutely great,” Bhavsar said. “This has been a superb year for me, winning NCAA’s and then this. I love team meets. Just knowing that we made history here today is unbelievable. It hasn’t even sunken in yet. Bring on the next one in 2003.”
