Ohio State Men’s Gymnastics Kicks-off 2006 Season at Windy City Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 11, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 2 ranked Ohio State men’s gymnastics team officially begins the 2006 season when it travels to Chicago for the 36th-annual Windy City Invitational. The meet is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at the UIC Physical Education Building on the campus of UIC. Ohio State will compete against five squads at the invite including Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and UIC.
The Buckeyes will meet Big Ten foes and Top 6 ranked Illinois and Michigan at the Windy City Invitational for the first time since the scoring guidelines were changed.
“Certainly the team always wants to get a win,” Miles Avery, Ohio State coach, said. “From a coaching standpoint, I want to see how the team stacks-up against the competition. This is going to be a very interesting competition. With the new rules we don’t know how we rank with the other teams.”
IN THE WINDY CITY
Ohio State travels to the Windy City Invitational for the 26th-consecutive year. Last year the Buckeyes claimed second with an overall score of 220.100. Illinois was the top finisher at the 2005 invite with a score of 221.80.
The Buckeyes have captured the invite’s title on nine occasions, including back-to-back wins in 2003 and 2004. Ohio State also was the invitational’s champion in 1985, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 2000.
BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
Ohio State tied Illinois for the No. 2 spot in the 2006 preseason coaches’ poll released by GymInfo. Defending champion Oklahoma earned the No. 1 spot, followed by Ohio State and Illinois tied at No. 2. The Big Ten teams all finished in the Top 10. Penn State is ranked No. 5, Michigan is ranked No. 6, Minnesota is ranked No. 8, and Iowa rounds out the league ranked No. 9.
2006 CAPTAINS
Last week the Buckeyes completed their last scrimmage at the Varsity Exhibition in front of Ohio State men’s gymnastics’ alumni, friends and family. In addition, juniors Nicholaus Searcy and Willie Ito were named the 2006 team captains.
Searcy earned the team’s Most Improved Award following efforts during the 2005 season and finished fourth on parallel bars (9.225) at the 2005 Big Ten Individual Event Championships.
Ito competed in all 11 Buckeye meets, including the NCAA Championships, and recorded a career high 9.9 on pommel horse and high bar in 2005.
SCARLET AND GRAY INTERSQUAD RESULTS
The Scarlet and Gray teams performed on all six events at the scrimmage Dec. 16. The Scarlet team outscored the Gray team 151.55-142.35. This marks Scarlet’s third-consecutive win over Gray.
Ito tallied the highest score of the competition earning a 9.6 on parallel bars while sophomore DJ Bucher scored well on parallel bars with a 9.5. Freshman Eddie Hay earned a 9.455 on the floor exercise.
FRESH FACES
Six freshmen join the Ohio State squad for 2006 and offer the Buckeyes a wide-range of talent.
Jake Bateman (Kingsport, Tenn./Premier Athletics) was the 2004 and 2005 USA Championships parallel bar champion and placed third in the all-around competition.
Kevin Brown (Pepper Pike, Ohio/West Side Gym) joins the team after being named an Academic All-American in high school. Brown trained with West Side Gymnastics before joining Ohio State.
Marcelino Guerra (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw Gym) was a three-time Junior Olympic National qualifier from Saginaw Gym-Jesters in Michigan where he was coached by Scott Fry.
Eddie Hay (Butler, Pa./Butler Gymnastics) was the 2005 Pennsylvania State Floor Champion and 2005 regional team member.
Mike Jenkins (Lafayette, Colo./5280 Gymnastics) comes to Ohio State after placing fourth on parallel bars at the Junior Olympics in 2003. Jenkins has been a regional team member from 1999-2005.
Andy Saurber (Hamilton, Ohio/Queen City Gymnastics) was an Academic All-American. He was an all-around finalist at the Junior Olympic Championships.
2006 SCHEDULE
At the Windy City Invitational, Ohio State will have its first glimpse of its competition in the Big Ten. Avery is particularly interested to see how the Buckeyes perform against Illinois and No. 6 Michigan. In the Big Ten Buckeyes will compete in dual-meets against Illinois, Michigan and No. 5 Penn State.
In non-conference action, Ohio State will compete against No. 14 UIC, No. 4 California and No. 1 Oklahoma. California, Stanford and Oklahoma all pose challenges for the Buckeyes as they contend for the 2006 National Championship.
NEXT UP FOR OHIO STATE
Ohio State welcomes Illinois to St. John Arena at 7 p.m. Jan. 28, for its home-opener. This meet should prove to be a challenge for the Buckeyes as they face-off against the other half of the No. 2 spot.
