No. 3 Ohio State Men’s Gymnastics Competes at Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
March 21, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 3 Ohio Sate men’s gymnastics team will attempt to defend its 2005 conference title at the Big Ten Championships at 8 p.m. (EST) Friday and Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa. The 2005 Big Ten Champions enter Carver-Hawkeye Arena undefeated (7-0) in the Big Ten and tote a 10-1 2006 overall season record.
The Buckeyes ended their regular season with a team average of 213.950 and trail behind No. 1 Oklahoma (216.683) and No. 2 Stanford (216.575). Ohio State suffered its only regular-season loss to Oklahoma, 216.650-215.900, Feb. 18.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SET FOR APRIL 6-8
Tickets for the 2006 NCAA men’s gymnastics championships (April 6-8), hosted by the University of Oklahoma at the Lloyd Noble Center, are available for sale through the OU Athletics Ticket Office and Soonersports.com. Fans can purchase tickets for a single session or a package that includes all four sessions of the championship.
All-session ticket prices for adults and youth are $25 and $20, respectively. Group tickets are also available for all-sessions at $15. A group consists of 10 or more people of any age.
The NCAA Championships kick off April 6, with two qualifying sessions. The first session will begin at 2 p.m. (EST) and session two will start at 8 p.m. (EST). The team finals will be held at 8 p.m. (EST) on Friday, April 7, and the event finals will begin at 8 p.m. (EST) Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
The No. 3 ranked Ohio State men’s gymnastics team defeated No. 8 Michigan, 214.300-212.700, March 11, 2006, at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. For the win, the Buckeyes earned 10 Top 3 finishes and won four of six events to close their season undefeated (7-0) in Big Ten action. Ohio State’s freshmen led the squad in the first rotation. On floor, Eddie Hay (Fr., Butler, Pa./Butler Gymnastics) and Jake Bateman (Fr., Kingsport, Tenn./Premier Gymnastics) earned a 9.300 and 9.250, respectively, for second and third-place finishes. Bateman’s 9.250 notches an event career-high.
Sophomore DJ Bucher (Mason, Ohio/Queen City Gymnastics) won the event title on pommel horse with a 9.200.
Bateman tallied his second career-high of the night with a first-place 9.400 on rings and Pedro Pineda (So.. Galloway, Ohio/Hocking Valley Gymnastics) tied for second with a season-high 9.100.
The Buckeyes captured the final three rotations of the night. On vault, Jimmy Wickham’s (So., Gulfport, Miss./Planet Gymnastics) 9.550 won the event title as Ohio State outscored its opponent 37.100-36.800.
On parallel bars, sophomore Michael Marino (Ellington, Conn./Tim Daggett’s Gold Medal Gymnastics) earned a career-high 9.050 to claim his first event title this season. The team won the event posting a 35.150.
Two Ohio State gymnasts earned Top 3 finishes on the final apparatus to secure a 36.950-35.700 event win. David Ortiz (So., Cincinnati, Ohio/Queen City Gymnastics) placed second on high bar with a career-high 9.500 and co-captain Willie Ito (Jr., Huntington Beach, Calif./South Coast Gymnastics) placed third with a score of 9.450.
BUCKEYES IN POST SEASON ACTION
Since 1987, Ohio State has earned a Top 3 finish at the Big Ten Championships including eight first-place finishes. Under head coach Miles Avery, the Buckeyes have won three Big Ten titles in 2001, 2002 and 2005.
LOOK BACK – 2005 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The then-No. 1 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team claimed its first Big Ten title since 2002. In Ann Arbor, Mich., the Buckeyes posted a score of 225.350 to win the 2005 Big Ten Championship March 25, 2005. Ohio State outscored then-No. 3 Illinois (224.125) and then-No. 5 Michigan (222.775) to record the 10th conference title in program history.
In all, Ohio State won three events at the meet. The Buckeyes notched a program-record 38.775 on high bar and clinched the victory with a 37.900 on floor.
The Buckeyes swept the Top 3 spots on high bar. Willie Ito finished first with a score of 9.850, followed by Ron Ferris (Sr., Austintown, Ohio/Ohio Gymnastics Institute) with a 9.800 and former-Buckeye Randy Monahan with a 9.650.
Then-freshman DJ Bucher (Fr., Mason, Ohio/Queen City Gymnastics) won the parallel bars title with a score of 9.725.
BUCKEYES ON TOP
Ohio State gymnasts collected a total of 24 first-place event finishes in 2006 regular-season action. Junior co-captain Willie Ito and sophomore DJ Bucher both earned five No. 1 finishes. Ito won one event title on parallel bars and four event titles on high bar. Bucher has been an event title winner on pommel horse twice, rings once and parallel bars twice for the Buckeyes.
OHIO STATE NATIONAL RANKINGS
In GymInfo National Rankings, the Buckeye squad leads the country on vault posting a team average of 36.933. In addition, Ohio State ranks in the Top 10 on all apparatuses. The team holds second on parallel bars (35.800), third on high bar (36.450), sixth on floor (35.883), tied with Iowa for fifth on pommel horse (34.083) and eighth on rings (35.433).
The Buckeyes note seven individual Top 10 marks in the national rankings. On floor, Eddie Hay holds the fifth spot averaging a 9.367 and teammate Jimmy Wickham trails behind in ninth with a 9.217 average.
DJ Bucher is the lone Buckeye to place on pommel horse. Bucher’s average on the apparatus is 8.783 to clinch the 10th spot.
Wickham tops the nation on vault with a 9.517. On parallel bars, Nicholaus Searcy’s average of 9.150 lands him sixth in the nation on the apparatus. The final two Buckeyes Willie Ito and David Ortiz earn Top 10 rankings on high bar. Ito is second in the country with a season average of 9.550 and Ortiz is eighth posting a 9.283 average.
OHIO STATE GYMNASTS AT THE WINTER CUP CHALLENGE
Five members of the No. 1 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team competed at the Winter Cup Challenge Feb. 2 and Feb. 4 at the Sports Arena Center in Las Vegas. Sophomore DJ Bucher placed highest among the Buckeyes and seventh overall out of 84 gymnasts after the qualifying round. Jake Bateman (21), Jimmy Wickham (68), Willie Ito (71) and Eddie Hay (76).
Wickham earned Ohio State’s only first-place finish on an apparatus scoring a 16.400 on vault. Wickham’s 16.400 was not only the top score on the apparatus during the second qualifying session, but also, beat out the first-place finish score of 16.300 from Session I.
BUCKEYE NAMED TO U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
After outstanding performances on floor and vault Feb. 4, Ohio State’s Jimmy Wickham was named to the U.S. National Team at the Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas. Wickham (So., Gulfport, Miss./Planet Gymnastics) was the only Buckeye to earn a spot on the national team after the Winter Cup Challenge. He topped competition on floor with a first-place finish (15.650). Wickham’s score of 15.650 was the highest score awarded on floor during the two-day challenge and .450 higher than the closest competitor.
With a two-day combined total of 32.450, Wickham was the U.S. National Champion on vault and was fourth on floor scoring 29.950.
FRESHMAN OF NOTE
Jake Bateman added depth to the Buckeye squad on floor, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar. The freshman began the season earning scores in the 8.000s, but has improved over the year to consistently post scores above a 9.000 on the apparatuses. Bateman has a stand-out meet against Big Ten foe Michigan (March 11) when he notched three career highs. At the meet, he posted career highs on floor (9.250), rings (9.400) and high bar (9.150).
2006 CAPTAINS
Juniors Nic Searcy and Willie Ito were named as the Buckeyes 2006 captains during introductions at the exhibition.
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.
BIG TEN SQUADS IN THE RANKINGS
No. 3 Ohio State was undefeated in the Big Ten (7-0) and tops the league with a team average of 213.950 in the GymInfo National Rankings. Illinois and Penn State round out the league with team averages of 213.317 and 210.667 for second and third, respectively. On floor, the Buckeyes drop to fourth place in the Big Ten with a 35.883. Ohio State falls behind Illinois (36.567), Michigan (36.450) and Iowa 35.950. Ohio State ties Iowa for second place on pommel horse (34.083) behind Penn State with 34.517 in first. On rings, Penn State leads the league with a team average of 36.833, Michigan holds second place with a 35.900 and Illinois averages a 35.833 for third place. With a team average of 35.433, Ohio State claims the fifth spot on the apparatus.
The Buckeyes top the conference on vault with a team average score of 36.933. Illinois and Iowa follow in second (36.617) and third (36.600), respectively. On parallel bars, Ohio State trails Illinois (36.083) with a team average of 35.800. Penn State rounds out the Top 3 with an average score of 35.033. Ohio State’s high bar average of 36.450 places it first in the Big Ten. In second place, Illinois averages a 36.367, and Iowa averages a 35.450 for third place.
A GLANCE AT THE COMPETITION
No. 4 Illinois
The 2005 Big Ten runner-ups scored a 224.125 behind Ohio State (225.350) last year at the championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Fighting Illini returned 10 letterwinners from the 2005 squad that also finished third at the 2005 NCAA Championships with a season-high team score of 225.250. Senior Adam Pummer returned for Illinois after placing fourth on vault with a score of 9.300 and ninth on parallel bars with an 8.225 at the 2005 Big Ten Championships. At the NCAA championships Pummer earned All-America honors on floor, vault, parallel bars and high bar. At the event he tied for third on high bar with a 9.475.
Justin Spring also rejoined the Fighting Illini for his senior year after finishing in the Top 6 to qualify for the Big Ten championships event finals on floor, vault, parallel bars and high bar in 2005. A seven-time All-American, Spring captured the 2005 NCAA parallel bars title with a 9.737 and finished second on high bar with a 9.737. He was also a member of the 2005 U.S. National and World Championship teams.
Sophomore Wes Haagensen entered his second year with Illinois after being named the 2005 Big Ten Rookie of the Year. At the Big Ten team finals, Haagensen tied a school record on rings with a 9.850.
No. 6 Penn State
At the 2005 Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships, the Nittany Lions finished fourth with a score of 220.500 and 222.400, respectively. Senior Chad Buczek placed in the Top 3 eight times with six first-place finishes during the 2005 season. The captain of the 2006 team tied for fifth on floor at the NCAA qualifier last year.
Junior Justin Miklos captured second on pommel horse at the Big Ten championships team finals with a career-high score of 9.600 and placed sixth with a 9.500 at the individual event finals.
The team returned All-American Santiago Lopez after placing fourth on vault (9.350) at the NCAA championships. At the conference championships Lopez earned a second-place finish on vault with a 9.475.
No. 7 Iowa
The Hawkeyes had 12 letterwinners and three All-Americans returning from the 2005 squad. Last year, Iowa finished fifth at the Big Ten championships with a 219.800. Senior Michael Reavis notched a Hawkeye record on floor with the event win at the Big Ten championships and was named first team All-Big Ten. Reavis earned All-America nods in the all-around and vault after placing eighth in the NCAA championships all-around finals with a 53.900. He also won the event title on vault with a 9.550.
Curtis Kleffman returned for his sophomore year with Iowa after finishing eighth in the all-around (53.400) at the Big Ten championships. At the NCAA qualifier, Kleffman tied for eighth on pommel horse with a 9.350 and 14th on floor with a 9.025.
No. 8 Michigan
Last year the Wolverines rounded out the 2005 Big Ten Championships in third place with a score of 222.775. Senior Justin Laury led Michigan at the conference championships. He won the all-around and notched a program record with a score of 56.200. Laury finished seventh on floor (8.512), fifth on pommel horse (9.525) and seventh on parallel bars (9.012). At the NCAA championships, he finished fifth in the all-around with a 55.450.
Luke Bottke finished third on floor at the Big Ten individual event finals with a 9.512 and fifth on vault with a 9.262. At the 2005 NCAA event championships, Bottke earned an 8.350 for 10th place.
No. 9 Minnesota
The Golden Gophers returned nine letterwinners from the 2005 squad who finished last at the Big Ten championships with 216.400 and fifth of six teams at the NCAA championships with a 217.400. Senior Joe Moore led the way for the Golden Gophers on rings at both the Big Ten and NCAA championships. Moore scored a 9.425 at the conference championship and a 9.300 at the national competition. During the 2005 season, he only scored below a 9.000 on rings once.
Jacob Lee finished 11th in the all-around at the Big Ten championships with a 52.150 including a 12th-place finish of 8.975 on pommel horse. At the NCAA event prelims, Lee finished 12th in the all-around scoring a 52.625 and tied for 12th on vault with a 9.300.
Junior Steven Vuong took ninth at the Big Ten Championships on pommel horse with a 9.300 and tied his career-high on vault (9.000). Vuong set career-high marks in four events including floor (8.900), pommel horse (9.550), parallel bars (8.550) and high bar (8.600). The 9.550 on pommel horse during the team competition earned him a third-place finish.
NEXT UP FOR THE BUCKEYES
After the Big Ten Championships, Ohio State returns to Columbus to gear up for the 2006 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships April 6-8 at the Lloyd Noble Center on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. Teams from the Big Ten, Eastern College Athletic Conference and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation are automatic qualifiers for the 64th NCAA championships.
