No. 2 Men’s Gymnastics to Begin Season at Windy City Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 7, 2003
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Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team will begin the 2003 campaign at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago, Ill. Competition commences at 7:00 p.m. Saturday in the UIC Physical Education Building located at 901 W. Roosevelt Rd. Other teams in the meet include host school University of Illinois-Chicago and Big Ten opponents Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan.
2003 TEAM CAPTAINS
During the Alumni Scrimmage Sat. Jan 4, OSU head coach Miles Avery took the opportunity to announce senior Raj Bhavsar (Houston, Texas), senior Dick Huntwork (Pickerington, Ohio) and junior Jamey Houle (Enfield, Conn.) as team captains for the upcoming season.
Bhavsar was crowned the 2002 NCAA and Big Ten All-Around Champion and the 2002 OSU Male Athlete of the Year. Houle was an All-American on floor last year and is a solid competitor on pommel horse. Huntwork also was an All-American on floor and is a vocal leader during practice and events.
BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
Ohio State was preseason ranked No. 2 in the nation behind defending national champion Oklahoma. Ohio State had three first-place votes to Oklahoma’s seven. The 2001-02 season ended with the Buckeyes and the Sooners in the same respective rankings. RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Ohio State will return all five 2002 All-Americans this season. Bhavsar was an All-American on all-around, vault and pommel horse. Kerry Adderly (So./Orlando, Fla.), Houle and Huntwork were All-Americans on floor and Randy Monahan (So./Elizabethtown, Pa.) was an All-American on high bar.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP in ST. JOHN
The Buckeyes will play host to the Big Ten Tournament March 28-29 at St. John Arena. Ohio State will defend its back-to-back 2001 and 2002 championships, which were held in State College, Pa., and Minneapolis, Minn., respectively. A third-consecutive victory will mark the first Big Ten three-peat in school history.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
In the preseason poll, six of the top eight nationally ranked teams are in the Big Ten conference, four of which will be present on Saturday.
Illinois, ranked No. 3, will have a balance of veterans and newcomers, including the Top-2 nationally ranked juniors, to propel them through the Big Ten and national competition. Returning for the Illini are eight letterwinners, including All-American Peter Shostchuk (Glen Gardner, N.J.).
Last year, Michigan placed second behind Ohio State in the Big Ten and fourth in the nation. All Big Ten Senior Jamie Hertza (West Bloomfield, Mich.) will lead the No. 6 nationally ranked Wolverines this season.
Despite graduating key student-athletes, No. 7 Iowa returns 10 letterwinners from a team that was 6-3 last season. Cameron Schick (Houston, Texas) is the top returnee for the Hawkeyes.
No. 8 Minnesota returns 11 letterwinners and 2 All-Americans including two-time all Big Ten vault champion Eric Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.). The Gophers also return the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Guillermo Alverez (Denver, Colo.).
The event’ host, Illinois-Chicago, is ranked No. 13 nationally and returns the 2002 Eastern College Athletic Association Freshman of the Year, Neil Faustino (Stockton, Calif.)
