Buckeye Men’s Gymnasts Picked First in Preseason Coaches Poll – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Oct. 30, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team was ranked first in the coaches preseason Top 15 poll. The Buckeyes garnered nine of the 14 first-place votes to edge out two-time defending national champion Oklahoma.
The Buckeyes, under head coach Miles Avery, placed second in the NCAA championships the last two seasons. The squad returns eight letterwinners, including All-Americans Randy Monahan (Jr., Elizabethtown, Pa.), the 2003 Big Ten All-Around Champion, and Kerry Adderly (Jr., Orlando, Fla.). In addition, the team has added an outstanding freshman class, led by junior national champions Willie Ito (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Grant Osborne (San Diego, Calif.).
“Obviously it’s much more important to be first at the end of the season than in the preseason,” Avery said. “Hopefully on April 3 (the day of the NCAA finals) we’ll be No. 1. We’ll stay grounded with that thought.
“It’s nice to receive the respect from the coaches by them voting for us. They realize we have most of our team back and have added impressive freshmen.”
All six Big Ten teams were ranked in the Top 8. Following the second-place Sooners, Illinois, Michigan and Penn State rounded out the Top 5, with Iowa coming in at No. 6 and Minnesota at No. 8.
Ohio State opens its season with an exhibition meet, the co-ed Mixed Pairs competition, at 2 p.m. Dec. 7. The regular season begins Jan. 10, 2004, at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago.
2004 Preseason rankings
(first place votes):
1. Ohio State (9)
2. Oklahoma (3)
3. Illinois (1)
4. Michigan (1)
5. Penn State
6. Iowa
7. California – Berkeley
8. Minnesota
9. Stanford
10. Nebraska
11. Temple
12. William & Mary
13. Army
14. Illinois-Chicago
15. Air Force
Also receiving votes: Navy, Springfield
