No. 4 Men’s Gymnasts Take On No. 3 Penn State – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Feb. 22, 2002
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About the Meet
No. 4 Ohio State plays host to No. 3 Penn State Saturday at noon.
PSU (11-0) will be coming to Columbus following a home victory over Temple Saturday 213.550-207.750.
Miles Avery, Ohio State’s head coach, said he is looking for his team to rebound well from its loss to Illinois this past weekend. The biggest aspect he wanted his student-athletes to work on isn’t physical preparation.
“We’re going to be more mentally tough this weekend, because physically we are getting to where they need to be to start preforming well every week,” Avery said.
“This sport is so mental, it really is. You know how to do something you’ve been doing since you were 12 years old, but can you do it when the lights are on, the judges are there and your team is counting on you.”
Back-To-Back
It will be the first time in three years OSU will play host two consecutive meets. The last time was when OSU faced Oklahoma Feb. 20, 1999 then Penn State Feb. 27.
Movin’ On Up
On the weight of their preformance on Feb. 15, the Buckeyes moved up three spots to the 4ht spot this week. OSU is joined in the Top 10 by 5 other Big Ten teams: No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Iowa, No. Michigan and No. 8 Minnesota.
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 Penn State No. 3 Penn State features one of the best gymnasts in the country in junior Kevin Donahue. Donahue has been named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week three times this season and currently is ranked number one in all-around with a two-score average of 53.950.
Last week against Temple Donahue set a career high in all-around with a career-high 54.250. He also won the floor exercise, vault, parallel bars and high bar competition.
Donahue ranks second nationally in the floor exercise (9.525) and third in high bar (9.375). Fellow teammate Kevin Tan is ranked first antionally in still rings (9.700).
Last Time Out vs. Penn State
Penn State came to Columbus last season, Feb. 24, 2001, and left with a loss, 217.200-208.200. The then-No. 2 Buckeyes posted a new season high meet total as well as sweeping the top five in three individual events.
OSU All-American Jamie Natalie won the all-around compettion (53.450) and high bar (9.350).
Last Time Out
The No. 7 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team lost its first home meet since 1991 Feb. 15, falling to No. 2 Illinois, 214.375-213.525. The Buckeyes’ previous home loss was March 2, 1991, when they fell to Oklahoma, 284.15-281.50.
The competition also saw three Buckeyes taking individual events. Junior Dick Huntwork won floor exercise with a score of 9.650. Also winning events were freshman Cody Trobaugh in vault (9.300) and junior Raj Bhavsar, who was competing in his first team meet of the season, in parallel bars (9.350).
Ohio State head coach Miles Avery said his team’s hard work since its last competition, Feb. 2 at Illinois-Chicago, did not show against Illinois.
“It didn’t look as if we had progressed at all since the Illinois-Chicago dual,” Avery said. “Our guys have worked hard and it just didn’t show tonight.
No. 1 Oklahoma, who was supposed to compete in the competition, arrived during the competition because of circumstances beyond its control and had to wait to compete until after Ohio State and Illinois finished their rotations. The Sooners completed and were judged on all six rotations. A rules committee met Monday and decided Oklahoma’s score (215.750) will count towards their season totals.
The Rookie
Freshman Randy Monahan won the all-around competition as he edged the only other competitor, Illinois’ Scott Wetterling, 52.725-51.850. Monahan’s score was a career best, surpassing the 49.90 he set against Illinois-Chicago Feb. 2.
Head coach Miles Avery said he is pleased with they way Monahan is competing at the collegiate level, because at the junior level gymnasts compete individually.
“I certainly hoped he would become the gymnast he is turning out to be,” Avery said.
“I am really pleased with how he is handling the pressure of competing in the NCAA, because most freshman are not used competing to help their team win.”
Huntwork Workin’ The Floor
After setting a new career high in the floor exercise (9.650) against Illinois Feb. 15, junior Dick Huntwork has become ranked third nationally with a two-score average of 9.475.
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.”
