No. 3 Men’s Gymnastics Reaches for National Title a Temple – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
April 9, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 3 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to compete in the NCAA championships Friday through Sunday at the Liacouras Center. The national qualifier will take place in two sessions on Friday, with Ohio State scheduled for the 1 p.m. time slot. The team and all-around championships will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday and the event finals will be at 4 p.m. Sunday.
TICKETS
Individual tickets to the 2003 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships are $8 per session for Sessions One and Two (Friday), and $12 per session for Sessions Three and Four (Saturday and Sunday), and are on sale now at the Liacouras Center Box Office and via the Internet at www.ticketmaster.com.
RAJ DEFENDS TITLE
Nissen-Emery finalist Raj Bhavsar will defend his 2002 NCAA All-Around Title this year in Philadelphia. Last season, Bhavsar placed first in the all-around by posting 55.875 points. Included in the tally was a second place finish on rings with a 9.75. Bhavsar also was the 2001 NCAA Parallel Bars champion.
OSU NCAA HISTORY
Ohio State has qualified for the NCAA championships for 23-consecutive years and has won team championships in 1985, 1996 and 2001. Since 1956, 11 Buckeyes have won 22 individual event championships, including the last three all-around titles. Ohio State placed second in last years event behind Oklahoma (219.3-218.65). BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
For the March 31 rankings, the Top 3 were separated by 4.041 points: Oklahoma (221.058), Penn State (219.017) and Ohio State (217.958).
For individual events, Ohio State ranks first on floor, second on rings, third on parallel bars and vault, fourth on high bar and sixth on pommel horse. Randy Monahan is fourth in the all-around and sixth on high bar and Kerry Adderly is fifth on parallel bars and sixth on floor.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
The NCAA selected a field of 12 teams and individuals from non-selected teams to compete in the national qualifier. The field consists of the top 10teams and the conference champions from the Eastern Collegiate Athletic and the Big Ten and the top 12 all-around competitors who are not members of a selected team.
PRE-QUALIFING TEAMS:
1. Oklahoma 221.058 (Session 2)
2. Penn State 219.017 (Session 1)
3. Ohio State 217.958 (Session 1)
4. California 214.550 (Session 2)
5. Michigan 214.008 (Session 2)
6. Iowa 213.975 (Session 1)
7. Minnesota 213.617 (Session 1)
8. Illinois 213.092 (Session 2)
9. Stanford 213.092 (Session 1)
10. Nebraska 212.125 (Session 2)
11. Temple 210.217 (Session 1)
12. William & Mary 210.075 (Session 2)
At the two-session national qualifier, three teams and the top three all-around competitors not on one of the qualifying teams, plus the top three individuals on each event not already qualified on a team or as an all-around competitor, will advance from each pre-qualifying session to the finals session.
OKLAHOMA
Defending national champions and No. 1 Oklahoma is coming off a fifth-consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship where it posted a national-high 223.5. OU enters the NCAA Championships with the nation’s longest winning streak at 32. Oklahoma will attempt to be the second team ever to complete an entire season with an undefeated record, the 1996 Buckeyes stand as the only team in NCAA history to do so.
Oklahoma’s top all-arounder is Nissen Emery Award finalist Daniel Furney, who won the MPSF all-around championship with a 55.025 and was named the MPSF gymnast of the year. Furney was ranked No. 1 in the all-around in the March 25 Gym Info poll with a 55.15 average.
Mark Williams is in his fourth year at the helm of Oklahoma’s men’s gymnastics program. Williams carries a .905 winning percentage during his first three seasons and has compiled a 67-7 record. He has won the MPSF title every year he has coached Oklahoma and he guided the Sooners to the national title last year.
PENN STATE
No. 2 Penn State, the 2003 Big Ten Champions, edged Ohio State out of a third consecutive Big Ten title by posting 220.55 points March 28. The Nittany Lions recorded their season-high 221.525 March 15 vs. Army and they carry a two-score average of 218.275. Penn State is No. 1 in the nation on parallel bars.
Penn State’s Kevin Donohue placed ninth at the Big Ten championship but he is the No. 2 all-arounder in the nation with a two-score average of 54.40. Donohue posted a season-high 55.375 March 15. Penn State also has the No. 5 national all-around competitor in Luis Vargas, who has a season-high 55.150 (March 15) and a two score average of 53.9. Keven Tan was the Big Ten champion on rings.
Head coach Randy Jepson is in his 12th season at the Nittany Lion helm. He has guided Penn State to its fourth-consecutive NCAA Championship appearance and eighth overall. Penn State’s banner season in 2000 concluded in an NCAA championship crown and Jepson being named the National Coach of the Year. Jepson has been a member of the coaching staff since 1983.
CALIFORNIA
Fourth-ranked California placed second at the MPSF championships with a score of 216.025, behind top-ranked Oklahoma (223.5).Cal’s team score of 218.000 against Iowa March 16 was the school’s best since the 2000 season. Last year, the season high was 217.650, performed on the last day of the NCAA championships.
Nissen-Emery finalist Cody Moore leads the nation on parallel bars (9.475) and is ninth in the all-around (53.137).
At the MPSF championships, junior David Eaton finished fourth in the all-around (52.650). In the event finals sophomore Graham Ackerman was crowned the floor and vault champion by posting a 9.700 on the floor and a 9.450 on vault.
In his 11th season, Barry Weiner has led the Golden Bears to national championships in 1997 and 1998, a total of six Top 5 national finishes and five NCAA individual champions. He was named national coach of the year after being undefeated in 1997 and winning the NCAA championship. Weiner’s career record is 171-45-1 (.790) spanning over the last decade.
MICHIGAN
Michigan placed fourth at the Big Ten championships with a season-high 215.325 and is No. 6 nationally with a two-score average of 213.350
Michigan is led by senior captain Scott Vetere and senior Conan Parzuchowski, who is ranked No. 4 on rings with a two-score average of 9.662 points. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Justin Laury, is the Wolverines’ top all-around competitor with a 10th-ranked two-score average of 53.112 points.
Kurt Golder is in his sixth season as men’s head gymnastics coach at Michigan. Golder led the 2000 Wolverines to a NCAA second-place finish and their second-consecutive Big Ten Team title.
IOWA
Eighth-ranked Iowa placed third at the Big Ten championships and advanced seven gymnasts into the event finals. The Hawkeyes, who came into the championships ranked last in the Big Ten, recorded their best team performance of the season, scoring 215.600 points. Iowa was in fifth place going into the last rotation, but scored a season-high on pommel horse (36.525) to finish in third place.
Iowa’s top all-arounder is senior Cameron Schick who ranks No. 16 with a two-score average of 52.60. At the Big Ten championships, Schick placed seventh in the all-around with a score of 53.05 and made the event finals on floor with a season-high score of 9.4, earning him a tie for fourth place.
In his 21-year career as Iowa’s head gymnastics coach, Tom Dunn has complied a record of 166-64-2. He has led the Hawkeyes to 15 top-ten finishes in the NCAA Championships and has competed in the national meet 15 of the past 18 seasons. In 19 of his 21 years, the Dunn has led his team to a top-four finish in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes won conference titles in 1986 and 1998, while placing second nine times.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota ranks No. 7 with a two-score average of 213.275. Minnesota posted a season high 215.575 March 15 at home vs. Ohio State. The Golden Gophers lead the Big Ten on floor and vault. Minnesota finished fifth at the Big Ten championships with a score of 214.300. The Gophers had the highest finish on vault among conference teams with a score of 37.100.
Minnesota has garner four Big Ten Gymnast of the Week awards this year. Guillermo Alvarez has been named three-times and, most recently, Clay Strother was awarded. Strother is ranked No. 4 in nation and No. 2 Big Ten in the all-around with a 54.12 two-score average. Alverez ranks No. 6 with a 53.8.
In his 32nd season with the Golden Gophers, Fred Roethlisberger has led Minnesota to 11 Big Ten titles (four in the ’70s, three in the ’80s and four in the ’90s). He has coached a total of 22 All-Americans during his tenure, his gymnasts have captured 50 individual Big Ten titles and his program has continually produced United States National Team members.
OSU TOP 2 Big TEN All-AROUNDERS
Sophomore Randy Monahan placed first with a 54.5 and senior Raj Bhavsar placed second with a 54.475 at the Big Ten championships March 28. Monahan was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year after his efforts and both student-athletes earned All-Big Ten honors.
BHAVSAR’S LAST EVENT IN ST. JOHN
Senior Raj Bhavsar’s last routine in the Big Ten event finals and in St. John Arena, he scored a 9.275 on parallel bars to place first and claim the Big Ten parallel bars championship. Bhavsar also was the 2001 NCAA parallel bars champion.
BHAVSAE NAMED A FINALIST FOR NISSEN-EMERY AWARD
Senior Raj Bhavsar is a finalist for the Nissen-Emery Award which is annually presented to the outstanding male collegiate gymnast in the nation. The winner will be announcement at the NCAA banquet. Ohio State ranks first with three honorees in the last 10 years and four since 1990.
OSU NISSEN-EMERY AWARD WINNERS
2001 – Jamie Natalie
1997 – Blain Wilson
1994 – Kip Simons
1990 – Mike Racanelli
