Men’s Gymnasts to Compete in The Winter Cup – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Feb. 5, 2002
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About the Meet
USA Gymnastics plays host to the 2002 Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas this Friday and Saturday. Ohio State will be sending eight gymnasts to compete in the prestigious event.
The event will determine two spots of the U.S. National Team and the Winter Cup Challenge event and all-around titles.
The meet will feature the reigning U.S. champion, Sean Townsend, and over a 100 of the U.S.’s top male gymnasts.
OSU will be sending junior and team captain Raj Bhavsar, who was a part of the U.S. silver medal winning team at the 2001 World Championships. This will be the first competition of the season for Bhavsar. He will be competing in vault and parallel bars.
Also representing the Buckeyes will be all-around competitors, Jamey Houle, Dick Huntwork, Randy Monahan, Michael Evans, Ryan Schwartzkopf, Cody Trobaugh and Eric Van Sickle.
Ohio State head coach Miles Avery said he selected these eight from the squad for a reason.
“The eight that are going, I thought, would benefit the most from a competition like this,” Avery said.
Avery said Bhavsar has been working on some new routines and that is the reason for him not competing in the all-around this weekend.
“He (Bhavsar) is going to be doing two new world class routines, so didn’t want him to worry about getting other routines ready,” Avery said.
Sweet Road Chicago
The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team won its first dual meet of the season against Illinois-Chicago Feb. 2 in Chicago, 213.850-201.00. OSU improved on its mark of 203.325 it posted at the Windy City Invitational to down UIC for the second time this season.
The Buckeyes were paced by senior Mitch Claman, who won both the still rings and the horizontal bar competitions. His 9.300 score in the still rings surpassed his career high score of 9.100.
Junior Dick Huntwork, sophomore Eric Van Sickle and junior Michael Evans also all won individual events. Huntwork won floor exercise with a score of 9.300. Van Sickle captured the top spot on pommel horse with his score of 9.450 bettering his career best by .350. Evans tied Claman for the top spot in horizontal bar with a score of 9.100.
OSU’s score is the third highest road score posted in the country this season, which head coach Miles Avery said is a big boost to his team.
“The way we preformed in Chicago was a big confidence booster for our guys because it shows we are as good as anyone in the country without our top guy,” Avery said.
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.
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.”
Newcomers
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.
