Women’s Gymnastics Plays Host to Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 19, 2002
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%^$COMPETING FOR ALL THE MARBLES
%^$The Ohio State women’s gymnastics team welcomes the Big Ten at 6 p.m. Saturday when it plays host to the 20th annual Big Ten Championships in St. John Arena. OSU is looking not only for a strong Big Ten finish but a big score for NCAA Regional qualification as well.%^$
%^$BIG POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS
%^$It’s do or die time. With just a week left, Ohio State needs a stellar score to qualify for the NCAA Regional. The Central Region standings feature a logjam from teams No. 4-8, with less than three-tenths of a point separating No. 4 Michigan State (195.07) and No. 8 Kent State (194.735). Ohio State sits in seventh place (194.795), just over a tenth of a point behind No. 6 Central Michigan (194.92). The top six teams in the region qualify for regionals.%^$
%^$WHAT IS THE REGIONAL QUALIFYING SCORE?
%^$The Regional Qualifying Score is the formula used for teams’ qualifications to the NCAA Regional. In women’s gymnastics, it is based on a team or individual’s top six scores, three of which must be in an away meet. The high score is then eliminated and the remaining five scores are averaged.%^$
%^$Ohio State’s Scores For RQS:
%^$195.900 Iowa (3/16)*
%^$195.850 Illinois (2/15)
%^$195.325 at Michigan State (3/2)
%^$194.550 Minnesota (2/2)
%^$194.450 at All-Ohio Championships (2/17)
%^$193.800 at Utah (1/11)
%^$*score eliminated in RQS formula
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%^$POSTSEASON STREAK ON THE LINE
%^$Ohio State has qualified for the postseason in 22 straight seasons but needs a strong score Saturday to make it 23. The Buckeyes have never missed the NCAA Tournament under head coach Larry Cox.%^$
%^$NOTING THE BIG TEN FIELD
%^$* Ohio State is competing for its sixth Big Ten Championship and its first since 1987 when the Buckeyes completed a string of five straight Big Ten titles.
%^$* Michigan is the three-time defending league champion, looking for its 10th crown in the last 11 years.
%^$* Four of the six 2001 Big Ten individual champions return, including Alexis Maday (all-around, floor exercise) and Stephanie Gran of Iowa (vault) and Michigan’s Shannon MacKenzie (balance beam).
%^$* Defending Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Katie Rowland (Penn State) also is back this season.
%^$* Michigan’s Calli Ryals and Elise Ray are ranked one-two in the national all-around rankings. Ray is ranked second nationally on bars and beam, while Ryals in second on floor.
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%^$BIG TEN IN THE RANKINGS
%^$The Big Ten field is loaded this season with six of the seven squads ranked among the top 27 in the nation. Michigan leads the field at No. 5, followed by Minnesota (11), Iowa (17), Michigan State (20), Penn State (21) and Ohio State (27). Illinois is ranked No. 43.%^$
%^$MORE TIDBITS
%^$* Tickets for the championships are available at the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office by calling (614) 292-2624 or 1-800-GO-BUCKS or by logging on to www.hangonsloopy.com.
%^$* Fox Sports Net Chicago will televise the championships on a tape-delay basis. Mike Leiderman and Wendy Wilkinson will serve as the talent.
%^$* The meet will be aired at 3 p.m. CT Sunday on Fox Sports Chicago and will be replayed March 26 at noon CT. Fox Sports Ohio will replay the meet March 28 at noon.
%^$* Ohio State is playing host to the Big Ten Championships for just the third time ever and the first time since 1996, when the Buckeyes nabbed third place.
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%^$LAST YEAR AT BIG TENS
%^$ Ohio State earned fourth place at the 2001 Big Ten Championships in Michigan’s Crisler Arena. The Buckeyes posted a score of 195.425 to take fourth place in the seven-team field, which featured five teams ranked in the nation’s Top 20. Seventh-ranked Michigan won the team title, scoring 197.15 to post a .725-point win over No. 10 Penn State. Ohio State was paced by Lindsey Vagedes and Mary Beth Doerr, both of whom earned All-Big Ten honors. Vagedes won Big Ten honors on floor exercise, tying for fourth place (9.925) to become a four-year recipient of All-Big Ten laurels. Vagedes became just the fourth Buckeye gymnast to win All-Big Ten honors four years in a row.%^$ Doerr tied for fourth place on uneven bars (9.9) and earned league honors for the second time in her career. She also claimed the distinction in 1999.%^$OSU head coach Larry Cox was named co-Big Ten Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Iowa’s Mike Lorenzen. The Buckeyes were strong on floor (49.175) and vault (49.075) but were uncharacteristically shaky on uneven bars, scoring 48.65.%^$
%^$JANKE NAMED BIG TEN GYMNAST OF WEEK
%^$ Ohio State’s Tiffanie Janke has been named Big Ten Women’s Gymnast of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday. Janke is the first Buckeye to win the honor this season, and it marks the first such honor of her career.%^$ Janke was instrumental in the Buckeyes’ win over Iowa last week. She earned a first-place finish on balance beam, scoring a career-high 9.9. She tied for first place on floor exercise with a score of 9.875. She also added a career-best vault score of 9.8, bettering her previous high of 9.7.%^$
%^$OSU POSTS SEASON-HIGH SCORE, DOWNS IOWA
%^$ Ohio State earned its highest score of the season Saturday in a 195.9-195.55 victory over No. 18 Iowa in St. John Arena. The score is the fourth highest in school history. Trailing by five-hundredths of a point entering the final event, OSU scored 49.15 on floor exercise while Iowa tallied 48.75 on balance beam as the Buckeyes eked out the victory.%^$ OSU did not count a fall on any event and claimed its highest score of the season on balance beam with a 49.15. Tiffanie Janke led the charge with a career-best 9.9 on beam, as she took first place in the event. Elizabeth Meaney was right behind with a second-place 9.875, while Sheri Greig added a season-best 9.825. OSU’s previous beam high was a 49.0 on March 2 at Michigan State.%^$ For the third straight week, Jill Tucker earned first place on vault, scoring 9.85 as she tied Iowa’s Stephanie Gran and Alexis Maday for the crown. Megan Porter took second on uneven bars with a career-best 9.825, while Mary Beth Doerr nabbed third with a 9.8. Janke and Amanda Allen tied Maday for first on floor exercise with a 9.875.%^$
%^$JANKE A MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
%^$Tiffanie Janke has been extremely consistent throughout the season. She has hit on all 12 of her floor routines this season, including three career-best scores of 9.9. She also has hit on all but two of her 12 balance beam routines.%^$
%^$CONSISTENT … AND GETTING BETTER
%^$Janke, while maintaining her consistency, also has been improving. Last week she posted two career-best scores, tallying a 9.8 on vault and a 9.9 on balance beam. She fell just shy of her career-high of 9.9 on floor exercise, scoring 9.875.%^$
%^$COMING TOGETHER
%^$While the Buckeyes have struggled with consistency all season, their performance last week vs. Iowa was a step in the right direction. For the first time all season, OSU did not count a fall in any event and the results were excellent, as the Buckeyes posted a season-high team score.%^$
%^$INJURY SCOREBOARD
%^$The injury bug has been nasty to Ohio State all season, forcing several key cogs to the Buckeye attack to miss several weeks of action. Following is a list of the Buckeyes who have sat out of some action this season because of injuries:%^$
%^$Athlete Injury Meets Missed%^$Jenni Lymanstall Torn ACL 12%^$Shelley Harris Ankle 6%^$Laura Sommerville Ankle 4%^$Rickee Wirtzberger Ankle 4%^$Elizabeth Meaney Ankle 1%^$
%^$SHE’S BACK
%^$After missing six meets with an ankle injury, Shelley Harris has returned with a vengeance. Harris took runner-up honors on uneven bars vs. Kent State and Pittsburgh with a career-best 9.825. She started her comeback March 2 as the Buckeyes competed in her hometown of East Lansing, Mich. Harris competed on uneven bars and was stellar, posting a then-career best score of 9.8.%^$
%^$SHE’S BACK, PART 2
%^$Laura Sommerville is back this week after missing the past four meets with a sprained ankle. The freshman was OSU’s top all-arounder prior to the injury but will compete only on uneven bars this week.%^$
%^$FRESHMEN VITAL TO SUCCESS
%^$Buckeye freshmen Elizabeth Meaney, Shelley Harris and Laura Sommerville have posted some big scores this season when healthy. Meaney has competed in all but one meet on balance beam and has hit 10 of 11 routines. She also gives OSU key tallies on floor and vault. Harris has returned from injury to give OSU some key scores on beam and bars, while Sommerville was the Buckeyes’ top all-arounder before injuring her ankle a month ago.%^$
%^$DEJA VU FROM TUCKER
%^$After posting two of Ohio State’s most impressive scores March 2 at Michigan State, Jill Tucker repeated the performances again March 9 with the exact same scores, tying a season high with a 9.925 on vault and then adding a 9.9 on floor. She earned first place in both events both weeks. Her 9.925 is the highest for any Buckeye on vault this season.%^$
%^$BUCKEYES HOLD NO. 27 MARK
%^$After improving their Regional Qualifying Score from 194.365 to 194.795, the Buckeyes moved up to No. 27 in the GymInfo rankings this week. Twelve of the teams in the Top 25 are on OSU’s schedule this season.%^$
%^$TUCKER RANKED NATIONALLY
%^$Jill Tucker is ranked 23rd in the latest GymInfo individual floor exercise rankings. Tucker, with a floor exercise RQS of 9.9 ranks third in the Central Region behind Alabama’s Alexis Brion (9.94) and Bowling Green’s Marny Oestreng (9.905).%^$
%^$IT HASN’T BEEN EASY
%^$Ohio State is not shying away from the nation’s powerhouses this season. OSU has competed against four of the participants from the 2001 NCAA Championships on the road – Utah, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Arizona State – as well as Michigan at home. The Buckeyes also have competed against Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan State, Kent State and West Virginia – all of whom participated in the NCAA Regionals last year. This weekend, OSU adds another 2001 regional qualifier to the list: Penn State.%^$
%^$SCHOOL RECORDS GALORE ON FLOOR
%^$After tying the floor exercise school record Jan. 26 vs. Michigan with a 49.45, OSU one-upped that mark with a record-breaking 49.575 Feb. 17 at the All-Ohio Championships. To attain that score, Laura Sommerville notched a 9.95, tying the individual school record. That mark now has been set nine times, and three times this year. Sarah Spring and Jill Tucker also scored 9.95 in meets this year.%^$
%^$HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS
%^$Ohio State played in front of large, less-than-friendly crowds in its first two outings. At Utah, 8,610 Utah fans gave the Utes a major home-gym advantage. The prior week, 5,275 Kentucky fans rooted on the Wildcats. Both crowds were much larger than any crowd OSU competed in front of last season. The Buckeyes’ 2001 attendance high was 4,270 at the NCAA Central Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala.%^$
%^$DOERR NAMED TEAM CAPTAIN
%^$Mary Beth Doerr is serving as captain of the 2002 Ohio State women’s gymnastics team – just the third captain in Ohio State women’s gymnastics history. The senior leader earned All-Big Ten status last season on uneven bars – her second such honor – and has missed just three bars routines in her three seasons at Ohio State.%^$
%^$LYMANSTALL OUT FOR SEASON
%^$Sophomore Jenni Lymanstall suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in January during practice and is out for the season. She had surgery Jan. 25 to repair the ligament. Lymanstall was one of the Buckeyes’ top performers on beam last season, scoring a team-best 9.925 vs. Illinois.%^$
%^$ON THE HORIZON
%^$Ohio State awaits its fate at the Big Ten Championships to see if it will qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships. The Central Region Championships will be held April 6 in Baton Rouge, La.%^$
%^$BUCKEYES ON THE WEB
%^$For up-to-date information on the Ohio State women’s gymnastics team, as well as all 34 other OSU sports, go online to ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Weekly releases, meet recaps, statistics and more can be found on the site.
