No. 1 Men’s Gymnastics Heads to Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
March 23, 2005
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team will gear up for the 2005 Big Ten Championships Friday and Saturday at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The No. 1 Buckeyes (11-2-1; 6-1-1 Big Ten), who concluded the regular season with a NCAA team record of 226.9, will look to win their first conference crown since 2002. Last year, OSU finished third at the league championships, scoring a 218.425.
OVER THE TOP
In addition to owning the top NCAA team score (226.9), the Buckeyes also recorded the first (223.4 vs. Illinois), second (222.675 vs. Oklahoma) and third-best (222.075 vs. Penn State) NCAA road team scores this season.
TAKING CHARGE
OSU has swept all six events in four meets this season. Ohio State recently claimed every event against Michigan March 13. The Buckeyes also won each event vs. Nebraska (Feb. 18), Illinois-Chicago (Jan. 22) and Minnesota (Jan. 15).
Last season, Ohio State swept all six events only once (Illinois-Chicago – Jan. 24, 2004).
STAYING ON TOP
Ohio State has swept the Top 3 spots on an event 14 times this season. Against Minnesota (Jan. 15) a trio of Buckeyes captured parallel bars and high bar. OSU continued its success vs. Illinois-Chicago, (Jan. 22) claiming the Top 3 positions on all six events. In its meet vs. Illinois (Jan. 29), OSU swept rings, while against Nebraska (Feb. 18) the Buckeyes nabbed pommel horse and high bar. OSU’s last sweep came against Penn State Feb. 26. Ohio State captured floor, pommel horse and rings.
REWRITING THE BOOKS
The Buckeyes have notched Ohio State all-time team records on five-of-six events. OSU tallied a team-best 38.6 on pommel horse (vs. Nebraska), 38.55 on rings (vs. Illinois), 37.8 on vault (vs. Michigan), 37.35 on parallel bars (vs. Michigan) and a 38.4 on high bar (Illinois-Chicago).
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Five Buckeyes rewrote the Ohio State all-time record books throughout the 2005 season. In his first collegiate meet, freshman DJ Bucher recorded a 9.85 on parallel bars at the Windy City Invitational to surpass Raj Bhavsar’s 9.65. Pejman Ebrahimi tied teammate’s Randy Monahan’s OSU record of 9.55 on vault against Nebraska and junior Ronald Ferris compiled a 9.925 on high bar vs. Nebraska to best Monahan’s 9.85. Willie Ito nabbed a 9.9 on pommel horse vs. Nebraska and Michigan to top his own record of 9.65 and Monahan notched a 9.925 on rings to better Daren Lynch’s 9.8.
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT…AGAIN
In his first all-around competition of the 2005 season, senior Randy Monahan notched an OSU-record and NCAA second-best 56.55 vs. Michigan. Monahan bested his personal best of 56.5, which was recorded last year against Minnesota (Jan. 17, 2004).
FINDING HIS NICHE
Freshman DJ Bucher has won seven-of-nine parallel bars events during the 2005 season. Bucher has not placed lower than second on the apparatus and has scored a 9.55 or higher seven out of nine occasions on the event.
HOLDING THEIR OWN
DJ Bucher has been the No. 1 national and Big Ten parallel bars competitor for 10-consecutive weeks. Senior Randy Monahan has been atop of the national rings ranking for eight weeks, including seven-consecutive. Monahan also was the No. 1 rings competitor for 10-consecutive weeks in the Big Ten.
CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Senior Randy Monahan earned two Big Ten Gymnast of the Week accolades following strong performances vs. Penn State (Feb. 26) and Michigan (March 12). Against the Nittany Lions, Monahan secured two first-place finishes, scoring a 9.55 on floor and a 9.725 on rings. The second-year co-captain also placed second on vault with a season-best 9.5 and concluded the competition tied for second on high bar, tallying a 9.55.
In his final home meet vs. the Wolverines, the Elizabethtown, Pa., native helped lead the No. 1 Buckeyes to a NCAA team record 226.9 with his Ohio State best 56.55 in the all-around. The senior co-captain’s all-around score is the second-highest NCAA tally since 2000 and surpasses his former all-around career best of 56.5, posted vs. Minnesota Jan. 17, 2004. Monahan also finished first on floor with a season-high 9.650 and rings with a score of 9.85.
NISSEN-EMERY AWARD FINALIST
Randy Monahan is a finalist for the Nissen-Emery Award, an honor that is annually presented to the outstanding senior male collegiate gymnast in the nation. The winner will be announced at the NCAA/CGA yearly banquet at 6:30 p.m. April 6 at West Point, N.Y.
“It is really a big honor to be a finalist for this award,” Monahan said. “To be thought of as one of the best gymnasts in the country by the judges and your peers is a great feeling.”
College gymnastics coaches, student-athletes and accredited college gymnastics judges across the nation are requested to submit nominations. Gymnasts receiving 60 percent of the nominations are placed on a final ballot and voted upon by those same coaches, student-athletes and judges.
In addition to gymnastics excellence, the winner also must fulfill the following requirements: He must be an example of good sportsmanship and fair play. He must maintain a high standard of scholarship throughout his college career.
BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
Nationally, Ohio State is No. 1 on three events. The Buckeyes own the top spots on pommel horse (38.033), rings (38.458) and high bar (38.2). OSU is second on floor, averaging 37.142 points and is tied for second on parallel bars (36.975). Ohio State is fourth in the nation on vault, tallying an average of 37.417 points.
Individually, Ohio State boasts three Buckeyes who stand atop of the individual national rankings. Freshman DJ Bucher is the top parallel bars competitor, averaging 9.8 points and Willie Ito owns the No.1 ranking on pommel horse (9.825) and high bar (9.85). Senior Randy Monahan is first on rings, compiling an average of 9.858 points a meet. Monahan also is fourth and sixth in the nation on high bar (9.783) and floor (9.617), respectively. Junior Ronald Ferris is second nationally on high bar, averaging 9.825 points and Cody Trobaugh (t-10 – rings) and Jimmy Wickham (t-10 – vault) round out the Top 10.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
In the Big Ten, Ohio State is No. 1 on floor, pommel horse, rings and high bar. The Buckeyes do not rank below third on any event, as they are second and third in the league on parallel bars and vault, respectively.
Willie Ito leads the Buckeyes with the No. 1 ranking on pommel horse and high bar. DJ Bucher and Randy Monahan also are first in the Big Ten on parallel bars and rings, respectively, while junior Ronald Ferris is second in the league on high bar.
SCOUTING THE BIG TEN
During the 2005 season, Ohio State has either swept or tied its Big Ten foes in dual competition. The Buckeyes began their season at the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 8), where they placed second (220.100), falling behind Illinois. OSU opened up dual meet competition vs. Minnesota (Jan. 15) and defeated the Golden Gophers, 218.875-210.050. In its first Big Ten road meet of the season (Jan. 29), Ohio State tied Illinois 223.4 before topping Penn State 222.075-215.500 Feb. 26. The Buckeyes concluded the regular season and Big Ten competition with 226.9-218.3 performance in their win over Michigan (March 13).
No. 3 ILLINOIS
The 2004 Big Ten Champions returned four All-Americans to a squad that also finished third in the national championships. Junior Adam Pummer was a 2004 All-American on floor and vault, while junior Justin Spring was the 2004 high bar national champion. Spring also garnered All-America laurels on parallel bars and was the Big Ten champion on floor.
Seniors Ben Newman and Peter Shostchuk also return; both captured All-America honors on pommel horse.
Guiding the Fighting Illini in his 28th year is Yoshi Hayasaki. The University of Washington alum started out as a graduate assistant in 1971 before taking over as head coach in 1974 and has since led Illinois to one NCAA championship and four Big Ten titles.
BUCKEYES VS. FIGHTING ILLINI
Ohio State trails Illinois 22-39-1 in the all-time series. The Buckeyes hold a 7-0-1 advantage over the Fighting Illini in dual meet action, dating back to 1995. The last time OSU dropped a dual meet to Illinois was in 1986.
No. 7 IOWA
All-Americans Linas Gaveika and Michael Reavis returned to a Hawkeye squad that finished fourth at the 2004 Big Ten Championships. Gaveika earned All-America accolades on parallel bars and high bar and Reavis garnered the honor on vault.
Tom Dunn is the head coach for the Hawkeyes. In his 25th season in leading Iowa, Dunn has compiled a 187-79-2 record and has led the Hawkeyes to 18 Top 10 finishes at the NCAA championships.
BUCKEYES VS. HAWKEYES
The Buckeyes lead the Hawkeyes 24-17 in the all-time series. Earlier in the 2005 season Ohio State defeated Iowa at the Windy City Invitational, as OSU finished second (220.100) in the meet and Iowa placed fourth (217.300).
No. 10 MINNESOTA
Minnesota is led by senior and All-American Guillermo Alvarez, who is a four-time 2005 Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honoree. Alvarez also has won seven floor, six pommel horse and five vault and all-around titles during the 2005 campaign.
Minnesota is under the direction of Mike Burns. The Norwood, Mass., native, who had been an assistant at Michigan since 1997, earned the head coaching reigns following long-time head coach Fred Roethlisberger’s retirement.
BUCKEYES VS. GOLDEN GOPHERS
The Buckeyes lead the Golden Gophers 24-16, including a 9-2 record in the last 11 years.
No. 5 MICHIGAN
The Wolverines are led by junior Justin Laury. So far in 2005, Laury has won two Big Ten Gymnast of the Week awards and recorded a UM all-around record (56.050) vs. Oklahoma.
Kurt Golder is in his ninth year at the helm of the UM program. A 1977 graduate of Michigan, Golder returned to his alma mater in July of 1996 and since his return, he helped Michigan claim the 1999 Big Ten and NCAA championships titles. In addition to the national crown in 1999, Golder coached the Wolverines to five-consecutive Top 4 team finishes at the NCAA championships. Golder was named regional and national coach of the year in 1999, along with earning Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 1999 and 2000.
BUCKEYES VS. WOLVERINES
OSU leads the all-time series vs. Michigan 37-33 and has won six of the last eight competitions.
No. 4 PENN STATE
PSU is led by NCAA all-around champion Luis Vargas. During the 2005 regular season, the junior compiled 19 event wins, including three all-around victories.
Penn State is led by Randy Jepson. In his 13th year as head coach, Jepson guided the Nittany Lions to their 11th national championship in 2004, a NCAA record. With the national championship victory, Jepson was named the 2004 Coach of the Year, his second honor since 2000.
BUCKEYES VS. NITTANY LIONS
The Buckeyes own a two meet advantage over the Nittany Lions. OSU leads PSU 17-15 and the teams have split the previous six contests.
2005 CAPTAINS
Seniors Randy Monahan and Cody Trobaugh were selected team captains for the 2005 season by their teammates.
The honor is the first for Trobaugh and the second for Monahan. The Elizabethtown, Pa., native served as co-captain last season.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will follow up the 2005 Big Ten championships with the 2005 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships in West Point, N.Y. on the campus of the Army Black Knights.
